Possible Causes of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Polio

His Role in Finding a Cure

Theories abound concerning what actually caused the polio of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, fondly referred to as FDR. What is not debatable, is the fact that in 1921, the U. S. was experiencing frequent outbreaks of polio. 

In August of that year, FDR was enjoying a vacation with his family, at their summer home on Campobella Island, in New Brunswick, Canada. While on a yacht with his sons, they joined in an effort to put out a local forest fire. It was an exhausting day of battling the flames. Some rumors suggest that he fell off the yacht into the chilly Bay of Fundy, while other accounts say he took a cold swim to cool off. It is also reported that he spent most of the evening lounging in his wet swimsuit, and felt like he was coming down with a cold, as he headed to bed.

The next morning, his legs would not support him, and in the time frame of about 24 hours, he was paralyzed from the waist down. It took about a week to diagnose his condition as poliomyelitis. He was 39 years old.

Other contributing factors may include a stressful summer in Washington, and a trip to a Boy Scout camp, where many children were in attendance. During that time, polio was predominantly a children's disease that could not be prevented, and even worse, could not be cured. Many frantic parents kept their children out of movie theaters, swimming pools, and even schools. At that time, the average polio victim was under the age of fifteen, though there were some adult cases.

Therefore, Roosevelt was not the typical age to contract polio, but the virus seemed unconcerned with his age, rendering him permanently crippled, and never again regaining the use of his legs. He often wore steel braces so that he could stand with support, and was rarely photographed in his wheelchair, because in those days, to be disabled as a president, was seen as a weakness. (Very tragic and unfair, but true.)