Survived Polio, Flourished Despite Adversity

A few days ago, I found an obituary that had been given to me by one of the Maine Resilience coaches, Tony Strodel. The obituary had been given to Tony by a friend of his and was the obituary of the friend's brother. The obituary began by saying that Donald Wallace had been told throughout his life that the "end was close." Mr. Wallace had contracted polio as a young father and, according to the obituary, was not expected to leave the hospital alive. He had also suffered an injury at birth that had taken sight from one eye and left him with partial vision in the other.

Polio forced him to use a wheelchair. But Mr. Wallace adapted to his physical limitations by developing all sorts of "gizmos and gadgets" to overcome the disability. According to his daughters, "Nothing slowed him down." His life was full of adventure and fun. His faith and a wonderful childhood helped make Mr. Wallace the man that he was. According to one of his daughters, Marcella Brown of Gray, Maine, it was his spirit that allowed him to overcome adversity. "When I was a teenager," she said, "I felt, 'That's Dad.' His spirit can carry him over anything." (Obituary written by Ann Kim and published in the Portland Press Herald. Mr. Wallace died on January 18th, 2008.)

Ron Breazeale, Ph.D.