After Jonas Salk’s invention of the polio vaccine, the chairman of the PolioPlus committee said, “Ending polio will be a triumph for humanity, a win for the children of future generations.” He was right, as the vaccine saved more than 1.5 million lives.
Unfortunately for me, Salk did not pull the trigger on polio’s cousin, acute flaccid myelitis. I am one of 751 people who have contracted acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, a rare but serious polio-like disease causing muscle weakness and in some cases permanent paralysis. But I refused to let my diagnosis define me and proved that my resolve was stronger than ever by creating an organization to help other children with similar neurological conditions find a sense of belonging.
My AFM journey started a decade ago when I was 7 years old. After playing outside, I collapsed on the floor of my house and lost the capacity to move. I was rushed to Stanford Children’s Hospital, and after, the doctors struggled to figure out what I had.
One week later, they decided to use a new label for my condition: “acute flaccid myelitis,” a virus that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had started tracking only a few months before. The paralysis I was experiencing had the potential to be permanent, even deadly. Instead of dwelling on my weakness, however, I focused on physical therapy and my small wins over time.
After two months, I sat up alone for the first time and took my first steps. I didn’t care about the movement .
