Physical Therapy Pioneer Sister Elizabeth Kenny Her Dedication Helped Thousands Of Children Stand On Their Own.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)

Byline: Kathryn Linderman

It was 1911, and Sister Elizabeth Kenny had her first encounter with a patient's infantile paralysis, or polio.

After examining a little girl with twisted and deformed legs, Kenny sent her advising doctor a telegram asking for help. He wrote back, "No known treatment. Do the best you can."

Kenny had been working as a nurse for years, but her training had been on the job. She had no certificate, no R.N. or M.D. She did have an understanding of anatomy and common sense. That, she figured, was enough to start to make a difference.

So she got to work. Kenny knew that most twisted muscles were actually spasms. She also knew that heat relaxed muscles, so she covered the girl's legs with strips of a wool blanket soaked in hot water, then wrung out. Then she gently exercised the paralyzed muscles.

After a few days, the girl completely recovered. During the polio outbreak in her district, all six children who contracted the disease recovered with Kenny's help.

Her treatment of exercise, along with wrapping the legs with hot, moist cloth, differed hugely from that used by most medical doctors. "They put the patients in splints and some terrible gadgets to keep them straight," she said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.