Our inspiring speaker today was Ralph Pieplenbos who has been a survivor of Polio since the age of seven (7) months.  Ralph is a prime example of courage and fortitude.    He was born in 1953, before the Salk Polio Vaccine was discovered, but within a short period after his diagnosis, Dr. Salk introduced his vaccine and Ralph’s parents gave it to him in hopes it may still work but to no avail. He then had to endure wearing braces on his legs as he grew and could only walk with assistance.  Ten years ago, Ralph was diagnosed with post polio syndrome.  This is a condition that attacks polio survivor’s years after the initial attack of the poliomyelitis virus.  Most often polio survivors start to experience gradual new weakening in muscles that were previously affected by the polio infection and also in muscles that seemingly were unaffected by the virus.  At that time, Ralph was placed in a wheelchair by the doctor and could no longer use the braces. 

 Six years ago, Ralph was introduced to an organization that changed his life.  There was a small exhibit at Disneyland looking for people to join them in a Triathlon and someone reached out to Ralph and asked him if he might be interested in joining a relay team of disabled athletes.  He acknowledged that he would be interested and formed a relationship with the Challenged Athletes Foundation in his first Triathlon.  The team consisted of a runner with no right leg, a swimmer with no hands or lower legs and himself on the hand cycle.  They Won!  That’s right, with very little time to train and prepare, “Team Incredibles” won the race and Ralph was on his way to one of the 40 marathons and 20 triathlons he has completed.  One of Ralph’s goals is to compete in a full Ironman triathlon and continue to inspire other athletes with disabilities.  He shared some videos featuring “No Excuses” from Nike and the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) and may compete at the 2012 Paralympics in London immediately following the Olympics there.

 Ralph understands the importance of the good work done worldwide by Rotary International in eradicating Polio.  We’re close but we can never give up!  More than two billion children have received oral vaccine.  We must continue Polio Plus and support Rotary’s dream of a polio-free world.       

(Pat Dolphin)