DAILY NEWS PEOPLE : LEE SEITZ.Byline: - Sharon Cotal Stricken with polio in 1951, at the age of 24, Lee Seitz was devastated dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. . She was hospitalized for two years and placed in an iron lung iron lung, device used to maintain artificial respiration over an extended period of time. Before the successful vaccination program against poliomyelitis, it was used mostly in treatment of that disease. away from her young daughter. The disease, which came on like a severe flu, soon had paralyzed par·a·lyze tr.v. par·a·lyzed, par·a·lyz·ing, par·a·lyz·es 1. To affect with paralysis; cause to be paralytic. 2. To make unable to move or act: paralyzed by fear. her entire body, and all of the dreams she had for her life had to be completely rearranged. She eventually regained movement in her left foot, and about 15 years after her illness, Seitz was given a motorized mo·tor·ize tr.v. mo·tor·ized, mo·tor·iz·ing, mo·tor·iz·es 1. To equip with a motor. 2. To supply with motor-driven vehicles. 3. To provide with automobiles. wheelchair, which she operates with her toe. ``It just opened up the whole world again,'' she said. Seitz wanted to re-create the magic she felt when she got her first wheelchair, so with the guidance and encouragement of a retired businessman, Seitz and four other polio survivors It may never be fully completed or, depending on its its nature, it may be that it can never be completed. However, new and revised entries in the list are always welcome. <onlyinclude>This is a founded the Polio Survivors Foundation (PSF (Print Services Facility) Software from IBM that performs the printer rasterization for IBM's AFP and other page description languages. PSF products are available for IBM mainframes, AS/400 and RS/6000 series and output the IPDS format for IBM printers. ) in 1978 to provide wheelchairs, crutches and other assistance to those with post-polio syndrome post-po·li·o syndrome n. A condition occurring most often in individuals who contracted severe cases of polio before age 10 and characterized by fatigue, exhaustion, muscle weakness, painful joints, and occasionally difficult breathing. in the L.A. area. AGE: 71 RESIDENCE: Reseda BORN AND RAISED IN: Born in Hollywood; moved to Reseda in 1949. OCCUPATION: President and co-founder of Polio Survivors Foundation. MARITAL STATUS marital status, n the legal standing of a person in regard to his or her marriage state. : Divorced. FAMILY: Daughter, Diana Seitz; grandsons, Scott and Chris Thompson
Chris Thompson (also known as Chris Hamlet Thompson ; great-grandson, Jordan Thompson. VOLUNTEERISM: ``We purchase and distribute medical equipment to survivors of polio. When I got polio back in 1951, we had the March of Dimes
WHY DO YOU VOLUNTEER?: ``When I got my motorized wheelchair, it completely changed my life. I want to do for others what meant so much to me back then, which means getting a wheelchair to every polio survivor who needs one. A lot of times Medicare will provide a wheelchair, but only for people to use inside their home - they can't go anywhere. So we provide a lift to put it on the back of a car or in a van so that people can really get out and about.'' BIGGEST DILEMMA: ``I have a really hard time if any of my care-givers gets sick. This doesn't happen very often because I have several people I can call, but having someone to help me is a necessity. I can't get by without them.'' FAVORITE DAILY TASK: ``Being able to solve someone's problem by providing something that will make their life a little easier and make them more independent. One lady was trying to get an electric hospital bed from Medi-Cal for a year. Someone gave her our number and we were able to get the things she needed to her in a week.'' BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: ``Sometimes it's hard getting the amount of money we need because all of our funding is from public donations. There are several individuals and women's clubs women's clubs, groups that offer social, recreational, and cultural activities for adult females. Particularly strong in the United States, they became an important part of American town and village life in the latter part of the 19th cent. that help us out, but everything we do is done with donations.'' GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: ``Having this foundation last as many years as it has. When we started, we didn't realize there were so many polio survivors. We discovered that there are more than 1 million, and many of them live out here because of the weather. Now they are getting older and they need more help, so every year we get more and more requests.'' GOALS FOR THE FUTURE: ``To be able to provide for every polio survivor that contacts us. I want our doors to always be open. We have never had to turn anyone away, and I hope we never will.'' WHO RELIES ON YOU THE MOST AND WHO YOU RELY ON: ``I rely on all of the other volunteers that work here at the foundation. They write information down for me, file things, put together our monthly newsletter, write the checks - there are so many things that need to be done around here that I can't do because of my condition. They act as my hands.'' ROLE MODELS: ``Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a great role model. He overcame his handicap to do great things. I think anyone who overcomes their disability to live a full life is someone to be admired.'' HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?: ``Success is being able to reach your goals, and I feel I've been able to do that. I had to rearrange my goals when my illness hit. I had to change into a completely different person. But I've been this person for so long that I've forgotten what that person was like.'' FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: ``I love to shop and go out to lunch, and I am also a bird watcher. I have a bird feeder bird feeder also bird·feed·er n. An outdoor container for bird feed, used to attract wild birds. Noun 1. bird feeder - an outdoor device that supplies food for wild birds birdfeeder, feeder in my yard which brings the birds to me since I can't get out to them.'' WHAT WOULD BE A PERFECT DAY FOR YOU?:``A perfect day is when I wake up in the morning and the sun is shining, because I can't get to work if it's raining and I really love my job. I feel really good when I'm able to help someone or when I get a `thank you' from someone who tells me what a change a motorized wheelchair has made in their life.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Lee Seitz Evan Yee/Daily News |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion