Wilma Rudolph Polio
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008Wilma Rudolph was a diamond in the rough that almost never had its chance to shine. A prominent track star and multi-medal winning Olympic-level athlete, Rudolph was one of the last candidates at childhood that anybody would have chosen to be a future athlete: she was, after all, afflicted with polio, a serious disease that greatly affects motor functions.
But that didn’t stop her, nor did it stop Rudolph’s mother. Every night after a long day of hard work her mother would come home and rub Rudolph’s legs and administer home remedies, all the while promising her daughter that she would indeed walk without braces one day.
And that came true, obviously. By the time she was in high school Rudolph was a basketball star and well on her way to Olympic fame. Her success really does prove that even the possible can be made possible.