I am one of only two members of Congress who are polio survivors.

In 1954, my father was a pediatrician in Memphis, Tennessee. As part of the worldwide effort to stop polio, he was given a limited number of Salk vaccines to give to second graders.

My brother was in second grade and so received one of the doses that spring. I was in kindergarten, and medical protocol for the new vaccine limited the vaccine to children in second grade.

Unvaccinated, I contracted polio in September of 1954. Fortunately, I was among the lucky ones who survived − but I was hospitalized for three months, treated with hot packs and spent over a year on crutches. I also endured years of physical therapy.

I now suffer the effects of post-polio syndrome, which requires me to wear a brace for walking and standing. Many others were much more severely affected.

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