Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio

“Two days earlier, I’d gotten a sore throat and headache. Now I also felt weak, and my back hurt. What rotten timing, I thought, to get sick on Homecoming day.”

By emphasizing the importance that young Peg places on Homecoming, Kehret exemplifies her pre-polio priorities and the lack of responsibilities and worries at her young age. This comment therefore provides a baseline with which to compare Peg’s growth and to evaluate The Impact of Adversity on Perspective as she continues to struggle against the effects of polio.

“How could I have polio? I didn’t know anyone who had the disease. Where did the virus come from? How did it get in my body? I didn’t want to have polio; I didn’t want to leave my family and go to a hospital one hundred miles from home.”

This emotional spiral evokes pathos for Peg’s situation by accurately portraying the heightened emotional state and the shock that comes with the diagnosis of a life-threatening, debilitating disease. Peg has more questions than answers, and the desire at the forefront of her mind is to seek love from her family and comfort in the familiar.

“Don’t think about being paralyzed, I told myself. But how could I think of anything else? The nurse had forgotten to pull the sheet back up, and the skimpy hospital gown did not even reach my knees. I wanted to cover myself, but I couldn’t. Feeling vulnerable and exposed, I grew more panicky. What if the hospital caught fire? How would I get out?”

The simple act of the nurse forgetting to pull up Peg’s sheet is so miniscule to her yet so significant to Peg, who can’t move on her own. For the first time in her life, Peg is completely at the mercy of the actions of those around her and must rely on them to control her body and provide comfort, yet the heedlessness of the nurse leaves Peg feeling vulnerable and exposed, which in turn leads to panic.