Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only U.S. president to be elected four times. He led the United States through the Great Depression and World War II. What a mighty man he was. I choose President Franklin D. Roosevelt for my Research because he was diagnosed with polio disease and his disease is actually still a mystery due to lack of technology at the time. During the summer of 1921, FDR fell overboard into the icy waters of the Bay of Fundy. FDR could not feel his legs and he felt his legs becoming weaker by the day, he could no longer hold his own weight. His skin quickly became very sensitive and eventually even a slight breeze across his body caused great distress. Like anyone that is concerned about their health, FDR seen a doctor that insisted the issue stemmed from a blood clot located in the lower spinal cord and recommended that he receive lumbar massages daily …show more content…
However, his earlier diagnosis was incorrect and instead he claimed the distress was being caused by spinal lesion. On August 25, 1921, another physician, diagnosed FDR with infantile paralysis (polio). At that time, polio had no known cure and often resulted in full or partial paralysis and the erosion of one’s motor skills. The physician, who was an expert on the disease, insisted Franklin stop the massages, as they were not helping the situation and possibly making it worse; he instead suggested that he take hot baths. His massage therapy continued but did not prove to be successful in curing the paralysis. It was during fall of 1921, when FDR made the decision to remove himself from political life in order to begin his rehabilitation process at his home in Hyde Park, New York to him this was his treatment to recover. For several years, his main focus shifted from politics to recovering from his paralysis. FDR had realized that his legs could support the weight of his body in water with ease and used swimming as his main exercise.