Her medical methods have cured thousands of polio patients worldwide and is considered one of the most effective forms of treatment before vaccines.
Today’s Doodle is dedicated to Elizabeth Kenny, the Australian nurse who discovered an alternative treatment for polio known as the Kenny Method.
Her medical methods cured thousands of polio patients around the world and is considered one of the most effective forms of treatment before vaccines.
Kenny was born in 1880 in Warialda, New South Wales. She grew up in a poor rural community in rural Australia, where she received little education, but was an avid reader who enjoyed learning about medicine and anatomy.
Although Kenny did not have the option of attending medical school, at 17 she forged her own path by volunteering at a hospital in Guyra.
Kenny gained enough work knowledge to open her own nursing practice in Darling Downs, Queensland.
The 1911 she experienced her first case of polio. He was unaware of the standard treatment at the time, which forced polio patients to lie down in casts for months, which in turn caused muscle atrophy. This left many polio victims permanently paralyzed.
With her innovation, Kenny realized that the affected muscles were stiff, not permanently damaged. So she treated her patients by applying warm, moist compresses to the affected limbs, before having them do gradual muscle-strengthening exercises.
To the surprise of the medical community, her method worked! Since then, the exercises have become known as the Kenny Method, and news of this effective treatment has spread widely.
Kenny traveled to America in the 1940s to open rehabilitation centers such as the Sister Kenny Institute in Minneapolis, which became a world-renowned center for the treatment of polio.
Her alternative method was so effective that she received honorary degrees from Rutgers University and the University of Rochester. President Franklin D. Roosevelt even invited her to lunch to discuss his own treatment.
Impressed by the number of polio victims the Kenny Method cured, President Harry Truman authorized Kenny to enter the US at will without a visa, a great honor previously given to only one other non-US citizen.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
