DUNMORE, Pa. — Students at Dunmore High School spent the day interviewing polio survivors, retired nurses and doctors, and others for a documentary. The film focuses on polio and the effects it had on people in Lackawanna County.
"No one really understands it. And people think it's just gone like it's eradicated. It's not. It's still very prevalent today. There's just not a lot of cases because of the vaccine," said Dunmore senior Jackson Madajeski
Fred Garvey taught at Dunmore for more than 30 years, but before that, he contracted polio in 1953 when he was just 6 years old. He shares his story about what he went through because doctors didn't think he'd ever walk again. He was able to survive and thrive, unlike many others who contracted the disease.
"All they did Is sit in their wheelchairs in their living rooms and looked out the window and watch the world go by. And they've all passed away now. Not me, I'm still here," Garvey said.
Students did a lot of research on polio before they started production on the documentary and now have a better understanding of how polio affected so many people in our area.
"Thinking about how hard the pandemic hit us in modern day, and thinking about how much worse polio was back then when they don't have all the luxuries we have is terrifying," said senior Geanna Kirchner. "They didn't have the internet. They just had to sit there and suffer, so it just really opens your eyes. "
The Rotary Club of Scranton is working with these students on this documentary ahead of World Polio Day later this month. They're hoping this documentary is a starting point for a larger conversation about polio and why it's so important to prevent the disease.
"There is a vaccine. It's been proven effective. It's safe, it works, and it's available through Rotary International efforts. We can get it all over the world," said the Rotary Club's Lara Alexiou.
The Rotary Club of Scranton will also host an event at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine on October 24, World Polio Day.