I just read an FDR biography called Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Champion of Freedom by Conrad Black. Normally I don't read 1,000 pagers. Or read, period, but I finally took the plunge and I highly recommend this book (it's even available on Google Books). The book deals mainly with FDR's historic political achievements, but what moved me most was the poignant account of FDR's personal experience dealing with polio. His remarkable courage in battling adversity really encouraged me, so I've shared a few quotes below as well as my thoughts about this book. (Strangely enough, no mention of bartering for medical care, even in those good old days...) If you are going through a tough time, I hope you'll find some encouragement in this book's account of FDR's battle with polio.
By 1921, FDR had already been a prominent state senator, an assistant secretary of the Navy, and Vice Presidential candidate. He was a rising political star. Then, out of the blue, polio struck him and paralyzed his legs.
The book describes the perilous days right after his polio diagnosis when FDR was hospitalized, gravely ill. Even then, his optimism was unwavering, and he was the one comforting his fearful family and friends:
pg 141
One of the first to be subjected to Roosevelt's sunny outlook as a polio patient was Josephus Daniels [Secretary of the Navy], who came to visit him in the hospital. He remembered his former assistant as "young and debonair, striding and strong," and was visibly shaken to see him immobilized. Roosevelt beckoned him closer and then punched him in his stomach, joking that Daniels was not visiting a sick person, but someone who could "knock you out."
In 1922, FDR moved to Springwood with his mother Sara to recuperate. His recuperation was fraught with frustration and pain, but for the rest of his life he never gave up trying to improve his physical condition.
pg 144
His legs were placed in casts from hip to ankle, and wedges were gradually hammered into openings behind the knees. Through the process was extremely painful, the patient never acknowledged there was a problem and never uttered a hint of complaint...After seven months off his feet, Roosevelt was fitted for a 14 pound set of braces. His initial efforts at motion were with crutches, dragging his legs behind him, thrusting his neck forward to move ahead of his crutches...it was inelegant, hazardous, and exhausting.
FDR also had moments of discouragement. His time at his mother's house was spent very much alone: reading, whittling wood, writing, or working on his stamp collection. He took very few visitors. On a boat trip he took with friends in 1923, his sadness showed:
pg 158
He had been advised by Dr. Draper that no further muscular improvement could be expected, and there were many times on this cruise when he had a melancholy air. As far as the medical profession was concerned, no more could be done for him. On the trip, he often stayed in his cabin until noon, presumably unable until then to fix the happy countenance behind which he hid all his fears and sorrows.
FDR's return to work at Fidelity & Deposit in 1922 after polio was difficult. An account of his arrival at the office:
pg 149
The chauffeur raised [FDR] upright so he could support himself by leaning back on the car, put his hat on his head, and handed him the crutches. Passersby assembled, including one who helpfully replaced his hat on his head when it blew off. As his moved determinedly into the lobby, his perspiration quickly became evident through his jacket, so great were the exertions and the pressure of performing this exercise before strangers for the first time...moving toward the elevators, his left crutch slipped, and he fell in a great clatter. Roosevelt, seemingly unflappable and good-humored, turned over, reassured the embarrassed spectators, and asked two men to help him to his feet.
When FDR became president, he continued to battle his physical issues. He developed a method of chatting while he attempted to walk, or while he was being carried from place to place, to distract people from his physical problems. Before a speech in front of 100,000 people in Philadelphia in 1936:
pg 382
When the President moved to greet the poet Edwin Markham, one of his leg braces buckled and he was sent sprawling to the floor. Surrounded by his entourage, this was not visible to the crowds, and he told his aides to "clean me up." Jimmy Roosevelt retrieved the speech text but had not completed putting the pages in order when his father was introduced. (Mr. Markham was visibly moved by the President's attention and his courage.) The President arranged the pages himself as he warmed up the crowd, and he then delivered one of the greatest speeches of his life.
To truly understand FDR's incredible fortitude in dealing with his physical issues, it's necessary to hear from the eloquent Sir Winston Churchill:
President Roosevelt’s physical affliction lay heavily upon him. It was a marvel that he bore up against it through all the many years of tumult and storm. Not one man in ten millions, stricken as he was, would have attempted to plunge into a life of physical and mental exertion and of hard, ceaseless political controversy. Not one in ten millions would have tried, not one in a generation would have succeeded, not only in entering this sphere, not only in acting vehemently in it, but in becoming indisputable master of the scene.
What I got from this book is that physical and "worldly" barriers are surmountable. It's the inner, mental barriers that we sometimes impose on ourselves, barriers like self consciousness, low self esteem, fear, allowing other people to determine our value or self worth...those are the things that truly hinder us. FDR suffered setback after setback that would have defeated me long ago. But his steely will, his refusal to let anyone or anything break his self confidence or tell him that he should give up, shows that no matter what adversity we may face in our lives, we still can do great things, and we all have the strength and courage within us to overcome the challenges we face.
Excellent and moving book. Heavy on politics and policy, but interspersed throughout with many behind the scenes anecdotes like the ones above. I'd love to read your thoughts.