TORONTO -- You鈥檝e probably heard about David Onley.
He is remarkable for lots of reasons. He was Canada鈥檚 first news reporter with a visible disability. He鈥檚 been a dogged advocate for accessibility, and of course he was Ontario鈥檚 representative to the Queen as the 28th lieutenant-governor.
You probably haven鈥檛 heard about the time a man held a knife to his throat and threatened to kill him.
When Onley was three-years-old he contracted polio, a virus that left thousands of Canadian children dead or with permanent disabilities. In Onley鈥檚 case, it affected both of his arms and his legs.
He spent seven months at Toronto鈥檚 Hospital for Sick Children. His parents could only visit once a week, and could only see him through a window. That separation had a lasting effect, perhaps as poignant as the virus itself.
鈥淭hat was worse than not seeing them at all because after a while you just sort of forget about them,鈥� Onley said from his Toronto home. 鈥淚t creates major separation anxiety.鈥�
When Onley returned home, a new anxiety set in 鈥� one that came from the doctor who was in charge of his physiotherapy.
鈥淲hen he would arrive, it was like the scene out of the Exorcist,鈥� Onley recalled. 鈥淭he man with the black bag on the poster and the silhouette. I was initially terrified.鈥�
As it turns out, it wasn鈥檛 the black bag and imposing silhouette that Onley needed to worry about. It was the doctor鈥檚 technique.
Onley was chosen for a controversial therapy, called 鈥淭he Kenny Method.鈥� It was named after Elizabeth Kenny, who was an Australian self-taught nurse credited by some as one of the pioneers of modern physiotherapy.
Her method was specifically meant for polio survivors and involved applying strips of hot, wet cloths to damaged limbs and then 鈥渆xercising鈥� them, which meant physically stretching them the way they should normally move. The premise was that it would prevent deformities and build up muscles.
It was painful. It was also effective.
Onley doesn鈥檛 recall the physician鈥檚 full name, but he certainly can see him when he closes his eyes. He was a local practitioner from Onley鈥檚 hometown of Midland, Ont. and made the trip to Scarborough to administer the Kenny Method in the kitchen of Onley鈥檚 grandparents鈥� home.
On the first day, the physician began the exercises, which were extremely painful. The doctor stopped and asked Onley鈥檚 parents and grandparents to leave the house. You might think it was because it would be traumatic to see their little boy in such pain. That wasn鈥檛 the half of it.
鈥淗e didn't want them to see him when he pulled out his knife and put it to my throat and said, 鈥榊ou move this leg or I'm going to slit your throat right now and let you bleed to death. Now move the leg,鈥欌�� recalls Onley.
Onley was terrified. But the threat was effective.
鈥淵ou know what? I moved the leg and I moved the arm and I moved whatever he wanted me to because I believed him,鈥� he said.
He never spoke a word of the violent threat to anybody at the time. The treatment lasted seven days a week for months. At the end of it, Onley could ride a tricycle, walk and even run a bit.
That sort of physiotherapy wouldn鈥檛 fly today, of course. It would be headline news and result in the doctor getting his licence pulled. However, the 鈥渦ltimate tough love,鈥� as Onley describes it, worked. His parents saw substantial improvement over the months of the unorthodox treatment.
Onley is not traumatized by the memory. In fact, he speaks affectionately of his time with the doctor, who he felt genuinely cared about his rehabilitation. He can even laugh about it.
鈥淚've never had difficulty following orders from that time on,鈥� he said.
Years later, as an adult, Onley met the doctor again.
鈥淗e could see that I had definitely recovered and I knew it meant a great deal to him. We had some great conversations. He鈥檚 a great man,鈥� says Onley.
Two years after Onley contracted the virus, Dr. Jonas Salk developed a polio vaccine, saving countless children from the debilitating effects of the epidemic鈥檚 worst cases. The vaccine took decades to fully take control of the disease and Canada didn鈥檛 declare itself polio-free until 1994.
That鈥檚 been the same case for most of the world, where the virus has almost completely been eradicated. However, that鈥檚 beginning to change.
COVID-19 has disrupted immunization programs around the globe and now new polio cases have begun to show up in places where the virus was once held at bay by the vaccine.
Eighty million babies have now missed critical vaccines, prompting the World Health Organization to sound the alarm and ask countries to re-instate their vaccination campaigns.
If you鈥檙e wondering if your child can still be vaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic, contact your family health provider.
Onley, now 70, can鈥檛 say enough about the importance of vaccinations.
鈥淗ad the polio vaccine existed in the Tuesday before Labour Day 1953, I would have got it and my life would be completely different,鈥� he said.
Although he went on to have a long and successful career, Onley wants people to know that just like with COVID-19, polio has long-term effects.
For him, lifelong effects include post-polio fatigue and, of course, mobility challenges. He says when a vaccine for COVID-19 comes along, no one will need to threaten him with a knife to get one.
鈥淎s soon as the COVID vaccine comes out I will get my shot.鈥�
