A shot in the arm
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| Sheffield nurse Elizabeth “Wink” Barry has years of experience when it comes to giving vaccinations to area children and adults. In the mid-1950s, Barry volunteered with the American Red Cross to help give out polio vaccinations. In recent weeks, she has volunteered with the Bureau County Health Department in its H1N1 flu clinics. In this photo, Barry gives another H1N1 vaccination on Monday at St. Louis Catholic School in Princeton. |
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SHEFFIELD — Before the ink was even dry on her diploma, Elizabeth “Wink” Barry, Sheffield, was quick to volunteer for her first nursing job in caring for patients afflicted with polio. Now, 50-plus years later, Barry is once again volunteering her time to administer the H1N1 vaccine to school-age children throughout Bureau County.
It was years ago when Barry, who graduated in 1954 with a nursing degree from St. Francis Hospital, Kewanee, was told that due to a sudden increase in polio incidents, the American Red Cross was looking for volunteers to assist them with the care of patients afflicted with polio. Barry, along with her twin sister, Regina Johnson of Galva, also a nurse, traveled to Scottsbluff, Neb., to help care for polio patients. For three weeks, Barry and Johnson worked side by side with other hospital personnel trying to make a difference in their patients’ lives.
When her three weeks were finished and she returned to her hometown of Neponset, Barry knew her calling was not only to help care for the general public, but also she was dedicated in helping with the polio vaccinations to anyone who wanted it.
Barry accepted a job as a nurse for Dr. Otis B. Gitner, Sheffield, and eventually Dr. C.M. Berfield, also of Sheffield. It was with Berfield that Barry was able to get involved again with the polio vaccination.
Berfield would take Barry with him to the school in Sheffield to assist with the administration of the polio vaccine to the children.
Barry said, “I remember how frightened the children were back then. In the beginning, we would use an instrument that looked like a gun for the injection. I think it was the popping sound that scared them so much because there was really no pain to speak of when getting the inoculation.”
Eventually an oral vaccine was invented to replace the gun-type device.
“The oral vaccine made it much easier to give, and the children were not so frightened.” Barry said.
“With the polio vaccine, it was the gun. Now with H1N1, it is the needle, and unfortunately for school age children under the age of 9, they need to receive a second dose (shot) after a month from the first vaccine,” Barry said.
There are a few other similar traits that polio and H1N1 have in common. Polio had always been tagged as a childhood disease, and now the Centers for Disease Control is saying the H1N1 virus is now seen predominantly in children.
“Children were not the only ones nervous about the polio vaccine,” said Barry. “With the vaccine being voluntary, parents were unsure if they should have their child receive it. They were scared, nervous. This was a huge epidemic, and the virus had already taken so many lives. Eventually though, the majority of parents did sign the required slips, and the children did receive the vaccine.
“Just as the fear was back then, the same fear is with us now in dealing with the H1N1 virus,” Barry said.
“Both vaccines, in the beginning, were voluntary. Obviously, polio is now mandatory for all children to have before entering school, and both are funded by the U.S. federal government.“ Barry said.
Like the polio vaccine, the H1N1 vaccine has been offered to children through the school systems through the county health department. Currently, Barry is spending much of her free time in Bureau County schools, administering the vaccine.
“I think that the most realistic contrast between polio and H1N1 is that with polio, there is no cure. It is a crippling disease of the muscular system, which paralyzes muscles forever. With H1N1, the virus is bronchial, and if caught in time, anti-viral medications can be given to assist the body in healing,” Barry said.
“This is a busy time for me. I have been a nurse for over 50 years, and I find that this is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. I was at a loss as to what to do when the office I was working for shut down. I made calls to the health department offering my services, and in September of this year shortly after my husband passed away, I received a call from the health department informing me that they would be happy and grateful for my services,” said Barry. “That phone call was an answer to my prayers. The volunteering and working around children is great therapy for me, and it keeps me out of my own children’s hair.”
As Barry recollects the past, she can’t remember a time when she did not enjoy working as a nurse.
“I don’t remember wanting to do anything else, I have always enjoyed the idea of helping people. I enjoyed working with the physicians, and it was nice, being able to work and live within the same town. Eventually, as a resident of Sheffield, I really got to know a lot of the people who come in to see the doctor,” she said.
“I find it satisfying to know that I have made a difference in these children’s lives. Even though it has been 50-plus years since I was giving out the polio vaccine to the children in Sheffield, there is a comfort in knowing that some of those children are now healthy adults, working and living in the area. And here I am, giving their kids the same kind of protection that I once gave their parents years ago. It’s a nice feeling.”
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