A Cautionary Tale the Life and Death of Becky Lynn Shearer

 

Becky Lynn Shearer was born August 2, 1955 in Wooster, Ohio to Harold Duane Shearer and Jessie Virginia James. She was the youngest of four children. She was my cousin, By all accounts, she was a vivacious youngster. 

Born during the height of the polio epidemic in the United States, Becky was fortunate to have access to the polio vaccine, first approved in the US April 12, 1955. Polio was (and is) a highly infectious disease. affecting primarily children. It was once the most feared disease in the world. It attacks the nervous system and can lead to paralysis or even death. The vaccine consists of 4 shots given at various intervals between the ages of 2-4 months and 4-6 years old. It was highly effective even back then. Cases dropped significantly between 1955 and 1958. There was absolute scientific proof the vaccine worked.

Becky had her first 2 shots in 1957. My understanding from family stories is she had a slight reaction to the shots. Her family was planning a vacation and rather than have her feeling under the weather, they decided to postpone getting her next shot. While on vacation, she went swimming in a pond contaminated with the polio virus. The cause of her illness wasn't immediately identified as polio, and by the time it was suspected, she died just one day after being admitted to the hospital, on August 8, 1959 - just 6 days after her 4th birthday, as reported in the Akron Beacon Journal on August15, 1959*. Her autopsy confirmed she died of polio as published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on August 14, 1959*. 

As a result of hearing this story many times as I was growing up, I've always been deathly afraid of "swimming in water where I can't see what's swimming with me." While most people enjoy a day at the beach, frolicking in the water, it's the stuff my nightmares are made of. While I never knew my cousin, her memory has remained very much alive in our family through the telling of her story.

For those who don't believe in vaccinating their children, let Becky's life - and death - be a cautionary tale. Her death was quite likely preventable. Yes, she might have had another reaction to the next shot in the series, but wouldn't a little discomfort have been worth her young life? I realize Becky's story is unlikely to sway any hardcore anti-vaxxer. But if just one person hears her story and has a change of heart, then it was a story worth sharing.

Image by Goran Horvat from Pixabay
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