How I grew up with polio and why I want my and your offspring to avoid it?

Michael Allen Alexander, M.D.

Emeritus Chief of Rehabilitation Medicine 

Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children

How I grew up with polio and

why I want my and your offspring to avoid it?

Less than 70 years ago the United States was in the grip of fear and uncertainty as a highly contagious  virus spread throughout communities. The disease was Polio  and it left  many children and adults with often permanent and crippling paralysis.   Like Covid-19 there was no known cure or vaccine for this  disease , just wild theories as to the origins and transmission and a steep learning curve for both scientists and the public. 

In 195l, some four years before a Polio vaccine was discovered, Dr. Michael Alexander contracted Polio resulting in near total paralysis. He underwent numerous surgeries and decades of extensive rehabilitation, including six surgeries at the Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE,  before he graduated from high school. 

With the help of his family, physicians and friends,  coupled with untiring drive and determination, he would return to the very same hospital  21 years later as the Chief of Rehabilitation Medicine.  At duPont Hospital from 1986 until retirement in 2012, he served thousands of patients and families while conducting research, teaching, lecturing and publishing. He served as a consultant for numerous programs including  The Children’s Center in Bethany.

During his career Dr. Alexander earned a much-deserved reputation as a leader in pediatric medical  rehabilitation.  He was recognized in 2013 for lifetime achievement by The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation  with the Gabriella Molnar Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dr. Alexander earned a B.A. in Biology with honors from George Mason University and his  M.D. from the University of Virginia School of Medicine.  He completed a combined program in Pediatrics and Physical Medicine from the Ohio State University and Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.  Most recently Dr. Alexander also served as Professor of Pediatrics & Rehabilitation Medicine, Thomas Jefferson Medical College. 

Dr. Alexander is an avid gardener, babysitter, and classically trained singer and performer.  He resides in Wilmington, DE, with this wife, Michele.  He has three children, one son-in-law, one-daughter in-law and five grandchildren.  His brothers, Patrick and William, both live in Oklahoma City.

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