Stories

Alan Alda Talks About His Experience Having Polio As A Kid

ADVERTISEMENT

Recently, M*A*S*H star Alan Alda talked to AARP Magazine. He spoke about how he’s been doing during the coronavirus pandemic and opened up about having polio as a child. Right now, Alan said he is staying positive despite the circumstances and is quarantined with his wife Arlene.

He said Arlene has been getting back into painting, drawing, playing the piano and cooking. He joked that he hasn’t eaten this well in ages! Alan opened up to the magazine about having polio when he was seven years old. He had to undergo six months of therapy that sounds pretty rough.

ADVERTISEMENT

Alan Alda reveals the therapy that he underwent to cure his polio

ADVERTISEMENT

Back then, the therapy for polio involved scalding hot blankets wrapped around his body every hour. He said, “It was hard on me. It was harder, I think, on my parents, who couldn’t afford a nurse and had to torture me themselves. It’s always better to pay somebody to torture your kid.”

RELATED: Alan Alda’s Grandson Talks About Growing Up With His Famous Grandpa In Sweet Video

Alan Alda / Wikimedia Commons

These days, he faces something different. In 2015, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. However, he is doing quite well and still acting! Alan said, “I began to exercise a lot. A lot of people hear they have Parkinson’s and get depressed and panicky and don’t do anything, just hoping it’ll go away. It’s not going to, but you can hold off the worst symptoms. Movement helps: walking, biking, treadmills. But also specific things: I move to music a lot. It’s not the end of the world when you get this diagnosis.”

He continued, “You know, with the world changing so rapidly, there’s no point in being optimistic or pessimistic about anything. You’ve just got to surf uncertainty because it’s all we get.” Great advice!

Show comments
Share
Published by

Recent Posts

King Charles Appears Gaunt In Virtual Appearance For Maundy Thursday After Cancer Diagnosis

King Charles is going ahead with some of his usual appointments and duties. Recently, he…

5 mins ago

Billie Lourd Shows Off Son Watching Great Grandmother Debbie Reynolds In ‘Singin’ In The Rain’

Billie Lourd recently shared a snap of her three-year-old son, Kingston, to Instagram, watching his…

44 mins ago

‘Growing Pains’ Cast Then And Now 2024

UPDATE 3/28/2024 The pains of growing… made better thanks to the seven-season run of Growing…

1 hour ago

Fans Concerned About Tim McGraw, Faith Hill’s Daughter As She Looks ‘Too Thin’

Country music icons Tim McGraw and Faith Hill welcomed their third daughter, Audrey Caroline, in…

2 hours ago

Prince, Paris And Bigi Jackson Make Rare Red Carpet Appearance At ‘MJ: The Musical’

Michael Jackson's three children, Prince, Paris, and Bigi, made a rare public appearance together on…

2 hours ago

Rare Photo Of Johnny Depp Divides Fans As He Looks Like ‘Totally Different Person’

Guitarist and artist Micki Free shared a rare photo of Johnny Depp that left his…

2 hours ago