OPINION —
Last week, I focused on the infamous “Killer Rabbit” incident President Jimmy Carter endured in April 1979. He was criticized for lack of courage and became the butt of killer rabbit jokes. But in part two of the series, we see Carter has spearheaded a campaign that is close to destroying the dreaded guinea worm disease.
That Carter Center project was not known as well as his other post-White House works, but it shows how far he has come from being ridiculed because of a berserk rabbit. As he is at home on hospice in his beloved Plains, Georgia, we should be reminded of his trials as president and his triumphs as an ex-president.
“Considered a neglected tropical disease, Guinea worm disease is a parasitic infection caused by the roundworm parasite Dracunculus medinensis,” said the Carter Center. “It is contracted when people consume water from stagnant sources contaminated with Guinea worm larvae … It is a devastating disease that incapacitates people for extended periods of time, making them unable to care for themselves, work, grow food for their families or attend school.”
Meanwhile on the guinea worm disease, it is extraordinary that when the center started its efforts combatting the disease in 1986, there were estimated to be 3.5 million cases in at least 21 countries in Africa and Asia. That number is now reduced more than 99.99%.
Provisional numbers for Jan. 1 through May 31, 2023, show the human case was one case. Reported human cases globally for guinea war disease are Zero in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Mali and South Sudan. Only Chad was listed with one human case. These figures mean people living there have had a terrific turnaround from facing death to planning to have long lives. Amazing.
Guinea worm infections were down in animals by 21%. In Chad, there were reports of infections in 605 animals; Mali had 41; Cameroon, 27: Angola, seven; Ethiopia, three; and South Sudan, one. The latter gained independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011, making it the most recent sovereign state or country with wide recognition as of 2023. A Carter Center press release noted the manner in which this disease was eradicated, saying: “The Guinea Worm Eradication Program is wiping out this ancient disease mainly through community-based interventions to educate and change behavior, such as teaching people to filter all drinking water and preventing transmission by keeping anyone with an emerging worm from entering water resources.”
Another person who had a serious disease as a child is Sen. Mitch McConnell, born in Sheffield, Alabama, in 1942. He later moved to Athens, Alabama. As an adult, he moved to Louisville, Kentucky, his home for decades. McConnell is known as “tight-lipped” but I found a CSPAN interview he undertook in 2016 after his autobiography “The Long Game: A Memoir”, was published.
“In 1944, you had polio when you were two years old,” said interviewer Sen. Lamar Alexander, of Tennessee. “You moved and lived with your mom in Five Points, Alabama. Your dad was overseas fighting in World War II in the war. Imagine how terrifying those words about having polio must be to a parent then.”
McConnell said, “My mother took me to Warm Springs, Georgia, to the specialists there. They taught physical therapy and told my mom to administer it four times a day and to keep off my feet. She literally watched me like a hawk for two years. Every waking moment she tried to convey that the doctors did not want me to think I could not or should not walk. I was two years old, and she watched me every night. It prevented me from prematurely walking.”
The longtime senator explained that his first memory in life was when the doctors told his mother he would be okay and walk without a limp. (They were overjoyed.) They stopped at a shoe store in Lagrange, Georgia, on the way back to Alabama.
“They predicted the worst for me was a better brace on my left leg.,” McConnell said.
McConnell, now 81, knew the disease of polio was unpredictable. Still, he had “a perfectly normal life.” When he was a child, he did not go running long distances (because of the restrictions of polio). But he could play baseball as that doesn’t go back and forth as much as basketball does.
McConnell’s mother handled his medical plans with determination and compassion, based on the book. In a way that changed the lives of millions, Carter worked diligently to bury guinea worm disease. In his long life, Carter has not had occasion to meet that “Killer Rabbit” again. So, all is right with the world.
Greg Markley first moved to Lee County in 1996. He has masters degrees in education and history. He taught politics as an adjunct in Georgia and Alabama. An award-winning writer in the Army and civilian life, he has contributed to The Observer for 12 years. gm.markley@charter.net