Whakatane’s Fred Crosswell was eight years old and living in the Waikato when he contracted polio.

He recalls feeling unwell before suddenly becoming paralysed.

“One Sunday out of the blue, I’d come back from being down at my grandmothers for a couple of weeks, came back, felt a bit fluey, and that was the start,” he said.

Crosswell, who shared his story for International World Polio Day on Saturday, said he was changing his clothes when he collapsed on the floor.

“I was practically paralysed. Just like that, bang.”

He was taken to Waikato Hospital, where he spent months recovering. He said he did not see anyone from home for nearly three weeks after arriving at the hospital.

At the time, learning to walk again involved children lining up and holding hands as they practised standing and walking.

Crosswell describes the process as being “like it was a game of dominoes”, with children falling over and nurses having to pick them up.

Whakatāne and Kawerau Rotary clubs mark International World Polio Day every year, taking the opportunity to highlight the work still needed to eradicate the disease.

Rotary began its PolioPlus campaign in 1985 when there were about 350,000 cases of polio worldwide each year.

Today, cases have fallen dramatically, with the remaining cases concentrated in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Eastern Bay clubs help raise awareness and money for the campaign through fundraising activities, including stalls and club events.

Kawerau Rotary Club president Lynette Dolman said the need for such work continued.

“It’s not quite done. I’m just so close to saying we did it,” she said.

“But you’ve got to get the very last one.”

Rotary’s role is to raise money to help fund vaccinations, surveillance and responses to outbreaks. The clubs also work to keep younger members aware of why the campaign matters.

New Zealand and the wider Pacific were declared polio-free in 2000, but Rotary members said the disease needed to be eradicated everywhere to prevent it spreading again.

For polio survivors such as Crosswell and Marie Collins, the campaign is personal.

The effects of polio can also return decades after the initial infection through post-polio syndrome. The condition can cause fatigue and muscle weakness, increasing the risk of falls.

Collins describes how quickly someone can fall at home.

“You can be walking around in your house and the next minute, you’re flat on your face, and that’s why I do that frequently,” she said.

She said she was a regular user of St John ambulance services and was grateful to have an emergency alarm button.

Candice Donner, liaison officer for the post-polio group at the Disabilities Resource Centre, said post-polio syndrome could affect up to half of polio survivors.

“Post-polio syndrome can come back decades after having the initial polio infection,” she said.

The Disabilities Resource Centre supports people living with the effects of polio and can help connect survivors with support.

Donner said there were people who might not want to acknowledge that they had contracted the disease.

The local support group had dwindled over the years, she said, but people who had experienced polio could still reach out.

The survivors’ experiences are a reminder of why Rotary members say the work must continue until polio is eradicated completely.

For any post-polio survivors wanting support get in touch with the front office at the Disabilities Resource Centre by calling 07 307 1447.