Every time I hear that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. is cutting something to save money, I think, yes, you may, but the undertakers will make money when you cut the things that will hurt our people.
Since I just turned 88, I think I need to speak up. I need to enlighten some of these people who are cutting health medicine and how much those things have helped my family through the years.
My sister, brother and I had to get TB shots all through our years of schooling because my granddad died from tuberculosis from working in the mines in the Pittsburg area.
Then, measles, chicken pox, and others diseases were necessary to receive vaccines when they popped up. Throughout the years, we were lucky because we had people who were able to help figure out what would keep us healthy.
The first documented cases of polio in the United States that occurred in the early 1800s. However, the disease did not become widespread until the late 19th century.
The first major polio epidemic in the U.S. occurred in 1916, affecting New York City and other parts of the country. The disease continued to be a major public health concern until the development of the polio vaccine in the 1950s.
During the 1950s, polio affected a lot of lives. The swimming pool shut down, and I lost my job as a lifeguard.
Many young people were in iron lungs to help them breathe. Many people died from polio; some were crippled.
It wasn’t until the early ’60s that Ray and I were able to get our two young daughters vaccinated from polio, administered as a spoonful of pink syrup, known as the “Sabin Syrup.”
We were lucky they were able to get this. Ever since that time, my family has had various vaccines, and we have had healthy lives.
Now, Sec. Kennedy has been thinking that fluoride should be banned.
When World War II was over, sugar was a new thing, and I had never tasted Juicy Fruit gum. My mother, the office manager of a dental office, told me not to chew gum because it would cause cavities. But my friends were always giving me gum.
All my teeth have fillings due to cavities.
It wasn’t until I graduated from Temple University that I was able to practice dental hygiene in Wichita. Not only did I work in private practice, I took time to teach school children how to take care of their teeth.
Wichita had no fluoride in its water. Many of the 5-year-old children’s first permanent molar were rotten because of chewing gum. It’s an important tooth because it guides the other molars in place.
Finally, the dental office was able to put fluoride on young people’s teeth. At that time through the 1950s and ’60s, the dental community tried to get fluoride in the water, but a Wichita company chose to fight against it because they thought it was dangerous, although they had no proof. They have never had fluoride in the water.
