Patch Blog: Monrovia Triathlete Overcomes Polio

Ralph knows the effects of polio first-hand.  He faces the disease by being an athlete.

Rotary’s initiatives have improved the lives of countless people around the world, but none may be more significant than Rotary’s fight to eliminate polio.  Rotary launched its PolioPlus program in 1985.  In conjunction with the World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Unicef, the effort mobilized more than 20 million volunteers in 200 countries.

Since 1988, about 2.5 billion children have been vaccinated against polio worldwide.  In the same period the global number of polio cases has been reduced by more than 99 percent, from an estimated 350,000 cases in 1988 to a low of 483 cases in 2001, after which it has remained at a level of about 1,000 cases per year (1,606 in 2009).  It is estimated that this global effort prevented more than five million instances of child paralysis and 250,000 deaths.

Polio eradication is within reach and if attained, polio would become the second disease after smallpox to have been successfully eradicated from the globe.
Rotary’s efforts have extended around the world, but few know polio better than Monrovia resident, Ralph Pieplenbos.  

Ralph was diagnosed with polio at age seven months, just before the vaccine became available.  Ralph spent his youth and early adulthood as a victim of polio, but after a chance meeting at the Walt Disney Company, he no longer considers himself a victim, but rather a polio survivor.  

During the chance meeting, he was approached by a volunteer putting together a triathlon team for the Walt Disney Company, where Ralph has been a mechanical engineer for the past 15 years.  Through the support of the Disney triathlon team, Ralph has transformed himself from a polio victim, to a top age group athlete.

Over the past six years, Ralph has competed in over 40 marathons and 20 triathlons.  Although still unable to walk, he competes using custom made racing wheel chairs and hand cycles provided by the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF).  It is the mission of CAF to provide opportunities and support to people with physical disabilities so they can pursue active lifestyles through physical fitness and competitive athletics.

Through hard work, a positive attitude and a strong support system Ralph Pieplenbos has accomplished the unthinkable, transforming from a polio victim to an elite athlete. It is refreshing to see the human spirit alive and well in Monrovia.