Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio

When she moves to the Sheltering Arms, Peg meets her four new roommates, who become her closest friends and confidants during her time in rehabilitation. The struggles that Peg’s roommates face are more severe than her own, and this contrast is partially responsible for Peg’s new understanding of The Impact of Adversity on Perspective.

Dorothy is 14, has been at the Sheltering Arms for two months, and is described as a cheerful girl who has a shy, sweet smile. During her time in rehabilitation, Dorothy attempts to use walking sticks and leg braces but ultimately remains in her wheelchair. Dorothy’s parents are poor and cannot visit as often as they would like; her release from the Sheltering Arms is delayed until they can gather the means to provide for her at home. Dorothy ultimately graduates high school, marries, and leads a successful life after the events of Small Steps. Dorothy’s correspondence with Peg following their release from the Sheltering Arms, in which she admits to missing the community of the rehabilitation center, demonstrates Emotional Turmoil Throughout Recovery. Despite the joy of their victories, they also experience sadness and a form of homesickness for the Sheltering Arms once returning to their former homes.

Renée is 12, like Peg, and is described as petite and dark-haired. Renée spends five months in an iron lung at University Hospital before transferring to the Sheltering Arms for recovery. Her time at the Sheltering Arms is spent learning to walk with leg braces and walking sticks. When she finishes high school, she writes for her local newspaper and church. Renée remains a faithful pen pal to Peg after their time together at the Sheltering Arms; she has also provided helpful photographs and memories to help Kehret complete Small Steps. Their friendship and support during recovery and in the following years continue to illustrate The Value of Connection in Recovery.

Alice is 13 and has lived at the Sheltering Arms for 10 years by the time Peg meets her. After Alice’s diagnosis at the age of three, her family abandoned her to the state rather than learning to care for her disabilities. Alice is described as having a great singing voice, wide eyes, and soft curls. Alice has been diagnosed with “dropfoot,” a condition in which a patient’s toes are permanently pointed downward. Alice eventually graduates high school, sings in a choir, and lives in a home for people with disabilities until her death due to cancer in 1993. The Value of Connection in Recovery is also illustrated through the figure of Alice, whose negativity and bleak perspective are reversed after singing at the Sheltering Arms Christmas pageant; when people flood Alice with compliments on her singing, Alice “blossom[s] under all the attention, smiling graciously and talking with anyone who approache[s] her” (154). Her reaction shows that simple connections such as a compliment or a conversation focused on the individual person instead of their condition can have a profound impact on their health and recovery.

Shirley is 14 and has spent seven months in the hospital, but she has regained no movement in her legs. She’s in the worst health of all the roommates; she often struggles to breathe and talk and has back weakness that prevents her from spending longer periods in a wheelchair. In addition to struggling with polio, Shirley was also born with arms that only half-straighten. Shirley dies from polio just 5 years after Peg’s time with her. Shirley’s weakness and shallow breathing cause her to miss many events and social opportunities. 

Peg’s mother, Elizabeth Schulze, saves Peg’s life and secures her best chance of recovery by quickly addressing her daughter’s fever and immediately calling for a doctor. The speed of Peg’s polio diagnosis keeps her out of a respirator and allows her to immediately start Sister Kenny treatments and regain use of her limbs. Elizabeth’s kindness, compassion, and love show in all her actions, from writing daily letters to Peg at University Hospital to donating toys to young children with polio at the Sheltering Arms. Though Peg is not thrilled about the idea of donating her long-abandoned childhood belongings to the children, she does so for her mother, who “glow[s] with pride in her unselfish daughter” (162).

Peg’s father, Bob Schulze, provides unconditional love and support and sets an honorable example for his daughter, which prompts Peg to always give her best. His humor and kindness help Peg and her roommates to keep their morale high. By learning the accordion in a week, he convinces Peg to continue learning the instrument herself. As an essential part of her occupational therapy, her newfound motivation to learn the accordion strengthens her arm muscles and fingers. While he’s not always able to provide the help Peg needs, especially during the early days of her illness, Bob provides as much support as possible by carrying her wheelchair up the front steps, making a home movie out of her birthday party, and bringing his humor into every situation to elicit laughter from Peg and her roommates.

Peg’s brother, Art Schulze, is six years older than Peg (18) and is a first-year student at Carleton College. He is described as being 6’2”, with thick, dark hair—features that led to him once being voted “Campus Dreamboat” by a campus sorority group. Peg forms strong emotional attachments to the teddy bears Art sends her, for they can be physically present for her in times when her family can’t. The teddy bears symbolize the presence of their love and support even when they’re far away, which Peg clings to during the worst weeks of her life.

Dr. Bevis is a young intern who becomes Peg’s favorite doctor at University Hospital. He is described by Peg as “tall, blonde, and cute” (111). He bonds with Peg over telling knock-knock jokes and painting her toenails, eventually causing her to form a harmless crush on him. His kindness provides Peg with a welcome reprieve from the indifferent doctors, unsympathetic nurses, and torturous Mrs. Crab.

The promise that Peg makes to Dr. Bevis—to return to University Hospital to walk for him after rehabilitation—becomes one of her most significant motivators. Dr. Bevis’s visits to the Sheltering Arms to remind Peg of her promise keep the goal at the forefront of Peg’s mind and reinvigorate her desire to fulfill that promise. After his time with Peg, Dr. Bevis continues treating polio patients and becomes a distinguished pediatrician before retirement.

Tommy, an eight-year-old boy in an iron lung, is Peg’s roommate at University Hospital. The iron lung conceals his entire body with the exception of his head. Despite his critical condition, Tommy remains hopeful about his chance at recovery. His first interaction with Peg is spent discussing his certainty that he’ll someday be able to breathe on his own. Peg quickly forms a connection to Tommy; because of their shared experience of polio, she feels closer to him than she ever was with her friends from home, because “Tommy understood what it was like to have polio; [her] school friends could never know” (71).

Tommy, like Peg, is a fan of the “Lone Ranger” radio program. They bond over the program, giving each other inspired nicknames: Tommy is Tonto and Peg is “me kemo sabe” meaning “faithful friend” (52). The pair bond further over shared laughter at the knock-knock jokes that Peg and Dr. Bevis exchange on a daily basis, illustrating The Value of Connection in Recovery. When Peg recovers enough to move to the Sheltering Arms for rehabilitation, leaving Tommy behind in his iron lung, she is plagued with guilt and experiences Emotional Turmoil Throughout Recovery because “[she] was clearly getting better; he was not” (65). When Peg’s roommates at the Sheltering Arms reveal that all four of them were once in iron lungs, Peg’s hope for Tommy’s own recovery becomes stronger than ever. However, Tommy’s fate is never revealed, as even decades after recovery, Peg herself never learns what happened to him.

Miss Ballard is Peg’s physical therapist at the Sheltering Arms. She is described as young and pretty, with a friendly smile. At first, Peg is wary about opening up to Miss Ballard, fearful that she’ll be as torturous as Mrs. Crab. Peg quickly realizes, much to her surprise, that Miss Ballard’s methods are the precise opposite of Mrs. Crab’s antagonistic and forceful approach. The stretches and exercises that Miss Ballard leads Peg through are gentle and slow.

Miss Ballard shocks Peg by requesting her efforts rather than demanding them like Mrs. Crab did. She also praises Peg’s efforts “even when [she] was not able to do everything that [Miss Ballard] asked [her] to do” (82). Miss Ballard’s constant praise, kindness, and respect for Peg fosters a trust that greatly facilitates Peg’s recovery. This trust allows Peg to listen to her body and gives her the confidence to push herself further in each session. Miss Ballard represents The Value of Connection in Recovery by forming a positive connection with Peg, listening to Peg’s knock-knock jokes as Dr. Bevis did, and getting Peg to look forward to physical therapy sessions instead of dreading them.