The 32nd President of the United States was Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR was the first president with a significant Physical disability. In 1921 FDR was diagnosed with polio. Even though FDR was dealing with polio, he never let it get to him and it ended up shaping him, both as a man but also as a president.
IT WAS THE SUMMER OF 1921
It was the summer of 1921, when FDR contracted polio. One minute he was spending a relaxing day with his family the next he was in the icy waters of the Bay of Fundy. The following day,he began to have back pain. As the day progressed he could feel his legs getting weaker and weaker. By the third day he could no longer support his own body weight. On august 25, 1921 FDR was diagnosed with Polio. At that time there was no known cure. FDR decided to remove himself from political life during the fall of 1921. He decided to work on his rehabilitation process. January 1922, FDR was fitted with braces that locked in at the knee and continued the length of his leg, and later that year he was able to stand with assistance. FDR was not going to let polio get the best of him so, he made a plan that one day he would walk the length of his driveway, which was a quarter-mile long. Do to the fact that his rehabilitation process was going so well FDR decided to get back into the world of politics. Despite his disability, FDR went up for president, and didn't let his disability get in the way of his 1932 campaign and presidency. FDR used a specially designed wheel chair. Throughout his presidency FDR never let his disability get in the way, nor did he give up the on the cause. FDR made sure that he put in an effort into assisting those who suffered from polio. FDR became a symbol of strength and perseverance to Americans, showing them that through your trials you gain courage, and strength which you can then apply to your life.