Polio, Dr. Ponseti and me at UIHC

When I was born with polio in 1953 there was no vaccine. However, I consider myself fortunate even though I live now with post polio syndrome. You see, my doctor was Dr. Ignacio Ponseti at the University of Iowa.

Dr. Ponseti was a world-renowned orthopedic surgeon. The "Ponseti Method" changed the orthopedic world of surgical intervention forever. But before we get to Dr. Ponseti's Method, let me tell you a little bit about him.

Dr. Ponseti was born in Spain. During the Spanish Civil War, Dr. Ponseti treated the wounded and dying, until he had to flee. He escaped to Mexico. In Mexico, Dr. Ponseti became a village doctor for a short while, then moved to the United States, still a refugee of course. After he arrived in the U.S., he joined the faculty at the University of Iowa's teaching hospital.

Dr. Ponseti designed what became known as the Ponseti Method of treating infants with clubfoot. It was a non-invasive, non-surgical way of treating infants. The Ponseti Method involved putting the child's disabled foot in a cast, rather than resorting to surgery as the first option.

Rarely does anyone find an orthopedic surgeon who is conservative when it comes to doing surgery. Dr. Ponseti operated, often, but it was not his "go to" response. He was once asked why it took so long for the orthopedic surgeons of the world to adopt his non-surgical treatment method, which he had developed years earlier. He replied, “Surgeons love their little knives.”

I came to Dr. Ponseti's attention through my Uncle Kenneth, who lived in North Carolina, and was himself well-known in the medical world. My father asked Uncle Kenneth, who had graduated from the University of Iowa medical school, for help in checking out the University of Iowa Hospital, which is where I was transferred to after delivery. In particular, Dad asked for any information his brother could find about the doctors who might treat his little girl there.

Uncle Kenneth’s colleagues told him that there was a young orthopedic surgeon from Spain who was on staff at the teaching hospital’s orthopedic department. His name was Dr. Ignacio Ponseti.

All of Uncle Kenneth’s medical contacts remarked on how Dr. Ponseti was a highly-respected physician and was known to have a wonderful, gentle way with children. Uncle Kenneth personally called Dr. Ponseti to ask if he would consider examining me and study my case. Thankfully, Dr. Ponseti graciously accepted.

That was the end of my parents’ anxieties about who was going to treat their little girl who was born with polio. My parents and I had different anxieties yet to come in the future, of course, but being so fortunate as to begin my wonderful medical care with Dr. Ignacio Ponseti was a sudden burst of light at a dark time. That light never went out, even after I moved from Iowa to Florida and grew into adulthood, became a music therapist, got married, and had a daughter of my own.

Not only did I live when the doctors said I probably wouldn’t, but I walked and have lived a long life, though doctors were positive I never would. I should clarify that there was one doctor who believed I would do this — that I could eventually walk and live life — Dr. Ponseti.

Dianne McTaggart Wall of Florida was born in Elkader. She is the author of Somebody Told Me I Could: A Polio Survivor Who’s In It For The Long Haul.

Editor’s note: March is Disability Awareness Month.

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