O’Fallon Rotarian Lunan takes ‘life-changing’ polio vaccine mission trip to India
When Rich Lunan signed up for a polio vaccine mission to India, he expected to take part in something good. But he did not foresee how much the journey would change his life.
“It was one of the most meaningful and rewarding experiences of my life,” he said. “My trip to India was life-changing.”
Lunan, president of the O’Fallon Rotary Noon Club, said Rotary International’s theme for 2019-2020 is “Rotary Connects the World.” He found out first-hand what the organization could achieve when he joined 47 other Rotarians and two Rotarian travel agents from 16 different states, Canada, Bangkok and Barbados on an 11-day trip to northern India. They left Jan. 10 to participate in Polio National Immunization Day activities.
“It was an unforgettable experience. I saw polio patients who have crawled or limped and, because of Rotary’s support, are now able to kneel, sit, and walk either with or without braces,” Lunan said.
Lunan said India, which has 1.3 billion population, has been polio-free since 2014, but these immunization programs must continue to prevent its return. He said neighboring country Pakistan still has the polio virus, as does their neighbor Afghanistan.
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a disabling and life-threatening disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the poliovirus spreads from person to person and can infect an individual’s spinal cord, causing paralysis. Polio is transmitted through contaminated water and food or contact with an infected person.
The CDC said the United States has been polio-free since 1979, but it is still a threat in some other countries. Polio was once one of the most feared diseases in the U.S. In the early 1950s, polio outbreaks caused more than 15,000 cases of paralysis each year. Following the development of a vaccine by Dr. Jonas Salk, the number of polio cases fell rapidly to less than 100 in the 1960s and fewer than 10 in the 1970s.
The oral poliovirus vaccine is still used throughout much of the world. The CDC said the polio vaccine protects children by preparing their bodies to fight the poliovirus. Almost all children — 99 children out of 100 — who get all the recommended doses of the inactivated polio vaccine will be protected from polio.
Lunan said Rotary International has been working to eradicate polio for more than 30 years. In 1985, they launched a Global Polio Eradication Initiative with the World Health Organization.
“We’ve reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979. So far, Rotary has contributed $1.8 billion. We’ve immunized more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries,” he said.
The Rotary has also partnered with UNICEF, the CDC, government agencies and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“I am even more humbled to know that I have made a difference in the lives of many children halfway around the globe. Their lives have been changed forever and so has mine. Rotary truly does connect the world,” he said.
He said treating children in India was important because of the density of cases.
At the start, 1,000 children a day were paralyzed by polio, and 500 of them were in India, he said. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children a year.
Work assignments begin after Taj Mahal visit
The India mission was important, but they did manage some tourist time early in the trip. He said upon arrival, they first did “tourist-y things” like visit the Taj Mahal. Then they began their work assignments.
The team visited the only polio surgical ward in India, St. Stephens Hospital in Delhi, where 250 young adult polio victims each year have surgery on severely malformed legs, which allows them to walk normally again.
In Jaipur, he toured a Rotary-supported limb prosthesis factory for feet and legs.
“I saw a patient who showed up on crutches at 11 a.m. leave at 3:30 p.m. that day and walk without crutches on a fitted prosthesis,” Lunan said.
He joined several hundred World Health Organization officials and Rotarian volunteers to walk in a polio parade through one of the poorer neighborhoods to create awareness they were there to immunize. They were accompanied by a village health worker who did not speak English.
During the next two days, Lunan joined three other Rotarians in one of the poorest ghetto villages, Mewat, about an hour outside of Delhi, to immunize children age 5 and under.
“We administered two drops of polio vaccine into the mouths of 100 children and infants at a station the first day and another 100 children the second day by going door to door,” he said.
“We received a lot of positive feedback. I saw the look in a young girl’s eyes of absolute trust, and I thought ‘that’s what it’s all about,’” he said.
Lunan is in the process of developing a Power Point presentation so he can share his experience.
“It’s just an amazing story. You feel as if you have done something that may have saved a kid’s life,” he said.
About Rich Lunan
As a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, Lunan was stationed at Scott Air Force Base in 1979. He retired in 1993, and he and his wife Carol became teachers. He taught eighth grade math and algebra in the Triad school system in Troy.
Originally from Portland, Oregon, the Lunans live in Shiloh. Their two children are grown. Their daughter, Beth, lives in Valley Park, Missouri, and their son, Eric, is a military intelligence officer stationed in England.
Lunan joined the O’Fallon Rotary Club 10 years ago.
“I was looking for something to do, a way to give back to the community. Rotary was a perfect fit for me. They worked on local projects, which was important to me,” he said.
“And now my life has been changed again. It’s inspiring to make these connections in the world and see that we made a difference in these lives.”
This story was originally published February 3, 2020 at 11:17 AM.