Before the vaccines were invented, beginning in 1952, many polio victims continued their lives crippled, lived in iron lungs because their respiratory systems were paralyzed,
…or died. Many went through excruciating physical therapy and some were able to recover from the paralysis. Others were like President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was stricken by polio in the early 1920's and wore 7 pound steel leg braces, used crutches, and was confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. Today, the vaccines prevent it from becoming widespread in may parts of the world. (MORE) 
