I will walk again

Polio survivor inspires support for ending the disease

Ten days before his 21st birthday, David Goldstone lay in a hospital bed near Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, his arms and legs paralyzed by polio, his body gripped by fever and in terrible pain. His hospital admission form read, “Life expectancy: 24 hours.”

Six days later, Goldstone emerged from a semi-coma and was moved out of isolation into a children’s ward; adult polio victims were and still are relatively rare. “You will probably never walk again,” the hospital’s chief medical officer told him.

“I will,” Goldstone replied.

Full story


Related News


Notice: Undefined variable: default_image in /var/www/vhosts/polioeradication.org/httpdocs/wp-content/themes/gpei/single-news.php on line 121
   15/03/2023
Rotary International President, Jennifer Jones, is on a brief tour of London. Speaking at the House of Commons she said that Rotary had to deliver on its promise to the children of the world that it would help to eradicate polio.
   10/03/2023
On Tuesday 28 February 2023, ministers and high-level delegates from across the Eastern Mediterranean Region participated in the seventh meeting of the Regional Subcommittee for Polio Eradication and Outbreaks.
   09/03/2023
Latest recommendations from independent global certification body
   08/03/2023
In the polio eradication programme, women are forces to be reckoned with. They play important and integral roles at all levels of the programme. We got the perspectives of four women from WHO EMRO who tap into digital innovations to shape decision-making