Personal Struggle
Deteriorating Health and Polio
Franklin D. Roosevelt swimming, one of the methods of therapy he used to increase leg strength and movement. The photograph was take at Warm Springs, Georgia.
In the summer of 1921, Franklin D. Roosevelt at the age of 39, contracted a severe case of infantile poliomyelitis virus resulting in total paralysis from the waist down (Freidel & Sidey, 2006). After his battle with polio Roosevelt relied heavily on the assistance of his wife, Eleanor, and his longtime supporter, journalist Louis Howe (History.com, 2009). However FDR would never allow for his condition to be seen as a sign of weakness, going to great lengths to prove his capability and strength as a national leader, while largely concealing the severity and impact of his disability from the American press and public (Wills, 2013). Nonetheless, Roosevelt did not let his condition limit him, but used it as an opportunity to help the disadvantaged who suffered similarly, and on some unique occasions FDR displayed himself in his wheelchair to empathize with and encourage naval soldiers who would face the same bitterness.
Howard Bruenn, a former Navy Lieutenant and chief of cardiology, became President Roosevelt’s attending physician and produced a collection of Clinical Notes on the Disease and Death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, twenty fire years after FDR passed away (Bruenn, 1970). In these notes, Bruenn refers to FDR’s medical history from May 1941, when the President developed a serious iron deficiency anemia as a result of bleeding hemorrhoids. Later, in December 1943, multiple incidents of influenza affected FDR’s usual vigor and progressed to several episodes of upper respiratory infections. Roosevelt’s constant battle with his health remained prevalent throughout Bruenn’s account, which would have put strain on his well being and presidential life.