#124 Agra The Story of the Polio Survivor and the Polio Victim

Victoria, Polio Survivor

Jopal, Polio Victim 

Polio Vaccines were given a week before our arrival in this small village

Of course, the trip to India would not be complete without a visit to Agra to see the Taj Mahal (Crown Palace).  But today I am writing about two polio patients that I met in Agra one a survivor and one a victim. As we passed through the gates to visit the Taj Mahal a woman approached Nancy and I, apparently her camera battery had died and she was alone at the Taj with no way to take pictures of the  palace and particularly to have a photo of herself at the Taj. She asked if we would take some pictures and email them to her.  Victoria, was even more pleased when we realized that Nancy had the same camera so we put Nancy’s battery in her camera and snapped some photos of her.  I also took some with my camera as a backup. She asked what brought us to India and when Nancy told her the NID, she said that she was a Polio survivor.  Contracting Polio at the age of seven while living in Kenya, she was fortunate to be able to have corrective surgery, she went on to have a happy and productive life.  Today she is dealing with Post-polio syndrome, with the weak leg tiring more easily and overall less energy, but that has not stopped this globetrotting mother of three.

Now Jopal is a Polio victim that I met last year outside the Red Fort, he is 21 years old and contracted polio at the age of six.  He is a crawler who begs for change outside the tourist site.  He told us that his sister also contracted polio and there was no money for the surgery.  He told us that they are giving the polio vaccines at Polio Camps but it was too late for him.  Unfortunately in India, Polio victims like Jopal, have no opportunities.  The Japur Limb centers help many of these patients, but Jopal does not have the means to travel to one of these sites.  So Jopal will most likely live his life on the streets begging for small change.

Two individuals I met in the same town, both affected by the same disease, but because of where they were living had two very different outcomes. While Victoria was not lucky to have polio, she was lucky to be able to have the corrective surgery and live a happy successful life.  Jopal was born and lives in India and unfortunately did not have the opportunity to have corrective surgery and such will continue to live his life as a begger on the streets.  It is important to note that we can learn from Jopal’s situation to continue to work on eradicating polio so that no more children will be forced into the streets.  So that they may stand tall, walking and have the opportunity to live a happy life.

A final note for today; we stopped at a brick factory which was a small village of seventeen families, 

When invited to see a typical home, I noticed on the door that a health worker had been there last week vaccinating the children.  It was a great opportunity to show the team how we mark the homes after vaccinating the children.