No. 10

I was so very sad to see polio case 10 in Bangladesh, but I guess it was just a reminder why I'm in public health in the first place. It was one of experiences that I'll never quite forget, one of those memories that are now etched in my brain.

This little boy is a year and a half old. It's not that he isn't loved, you can tell that immediately by the way his grandpa was holding him so tightly while clenching prayer beads, and the way EVERYONE in his family was answering questions about his health. His parents even took him to a medical doctor several times, despite their poverty and lack of an education. He even had his full vaccinations against polio, similar to a lot of the other cases in Bangladesh. Unfortunately, he lives on dirt floors, has constant diarrhea, and as a result is malnourished, making the polio vaccine ineffective.

Trying to walk


With good nutrition and proper exercise therapy of his leg, he may be able to walk again. I guess this just shows that sometimes there are just a lot of other problems that can't be solved by simply receiving a vaccine.