Senator Mitch McConnell's return to the Senate this week marked the end of a roughly three-month absence following a fall, hospitalization and bout of pneumonia—but his recovery may be far from over, an expert warned. The 84-year-old Kentucky Republican himself pointed to the lingering effects of childhood polio as one reason his recovery has been difficult. "My recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven't made it any easier," McConnell said in a statement as he returned to the Senate on September 14.
He added that he was "still not quite back to 100%" and would continue physical therapy. Freddie Maynard, a physician who has worked in post-polio medicine for decades, told Newsweek that the effects of childhood polio can remain throughout a survivor's life—even when someone has spent decades functioning independently. And, he said, the physical toll can become more apparent as polio survivors age.
Newsweek has reached out to McConnell's office for comment via email. Polio can destroy motor nerve cells that control muscles. Maynard explained that survivors who retain substantial function can compensate for that loss when they are young.
But those remaining nerve cells can be subjected to decades of increased demands. As people age, Maynard said, some polio survivors can begin to lose the ability to compensate for the damage sustained earlier in life. Some survivors develop post-polio syndrome, a condition associated with new weakness, fatigue and other functional problems years or decades after the original infection.
The effects vary considerably from person-to-person. Weakness can affect the legs, arms or other muscle groups, while some survivors have problems involving muscles used for speaking, swallowing or breathing. "When you start getting older those compensation mechanisms for the other half that wasn't affected by the polio, that pool of nerve cells starts being overused and wearing out," Maynard said.
Over time, he added, that can reduce the body's ability to compensate for the damage that was previously sustained. An illness, injury or hospitalization can then expose limitations that had previously been manageable. That is particularly important when an older polio survivor spends significant time inactive.
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