
Transferred to the Sheltering Arms Hospital in Minneapolis, a special hospital for polio patients, by the next morning, she was paralyzed. Assuming she had the flu, her parents sent for the doctor and she was taken to the hospital for a spinal tap that confirmed she had polio.

Still, she walked the 12 blocks home for lunch.

When Peg tried to stand, her legs buckled and she fell to the floor. During seventh grade chorus, a muscle in her left thigh began to twitch uncontrollably. Peg was looking forward to being in the Homecoming parade that afternoon. Me."Ĭhapter 1 of children's book author Peg Kehret's astute memoir is titled "The Diagnosis." It started on a Friday in early September. One of those was a twelve-year-old girl in Austin, Minnesota: Peg Schulze.

In 1949, there were 42,033 cases reported in the United States.
