Lent, Donita

Donita Lent, the first child in New York State to come down with polio after receiving the Salk vaccine. She was stricken with paralytic polio May 11, and was hospitalized for four months, first at Meadowbrook Hospital and then at St. Charles Hospital, Port Jefferson on June 21. Shortly after Donita was stricken with the dread disease she hovered near death in a deep coma for days, her body completely paralyzed. Then came a dramatic recovery, and the youngster improved steadly and she was well enough to go home for a weekend visit with her family on Schoolhouse Road, Bethpage to celebrate her 7th birthday. She attended Powell Avenue School.

Information from 2 undated newspaper clippings and the LONG ISLAND DAILY PRESS (Second Section) Saturday, October 29, 1955