For the last few months, I noticed that I seem to get tired easily. I can readily feel the strong beating of my heart and a slight shortness of breath after walking for just a few minutes.
In recent years, I have also been having a hard time getting a good six to seven-hour sleep.
These conditions were unheard of in my younger years.
Last week, when I began this blog and started reading up on articles about disabilities, I came across the term 'PPS' or post-polio syndrome. This is a condition known to affect victims of polio and is characterized by general body function slowdown.
The discovery came as a surprise to me. After recovering from polio, no one has discussed to me the possibility of suffering from its after-effects years later.
Yet, this was indeed a real possibility. Many prominent personalities who were polio victims in the past are now in fact dealing with PPS. These included Arthur C. Clarke, a science-fiction writer, who was diagnosed with polio in 1962 and who suffered from post-polio syndrome in 1984 before passing away four years later.
Briefly, PPS affects about 50% of all polio victims, with many of the symptoms beginning to manifest themselves some 15-30 years after the initial attack. The most common of these symptoms are fatigue, and weakness and pain in the muscles. Less common ones include sleep and breathing problems.
Often, the situation is exacerbated by the fact that PPS is hard to identify since its symptoms can be attributed solely to aging. Still, there is growing evidence that many polio victims who were able to overcome the damaging effects of the disease are now finding themselves facing what was previously regarded as a vanquished opponent.
Post-polio syndrome is now a new battlefield for us. Although it is not life-threatening, PPS has rekindled an old fear, the fear that we may eventually bow down again before an ancient enemy before our time is up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-polio_syndrome
No comments:
Post a Comment