RATHDRUM, Idaho — An encounter with a boy on the playground has been in Dave Eubanks’ mind for nearly 70 years.
The boy, Paulie, suffered from polio. Eubanks recalled seeing him coming across the playground, "spider-walking on his canes. It was terrifying."
"He came within about 20 feet of me and he fell," Eubanks said. "The canes went flying and he was lying on the ground and couldn't get up. I ran over and said, 'Hey, do you need some help?’”
Paulie advised him how to help, then Eubanks noticed his shoe.
“The sole was 4 inches thick, the heel was 4 inches thick, and he dragged it behind him,” Eubanks said. “I blurted out, ‘What’s wrong with your shoe?’ and he said, ‘Well, I got something called polio.
“I said, 'It just looks awful.’ I almost started crying. He said, ‘But I’m way better than I used to be. At least I’m alive and I can breathe.’ He was 10 years old. I never forgot that.”
A then-7-year-old Eubanks departed with tears in his eyes.
Visit our news partner, the Coeur d'Alene Press, to read more of the story.
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