59 pages • 1 hour read
Peg KehretSmall Steps: The Year I Got Polio
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Middle Grade | Published in 1996A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 7-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 7 Summary: “Star Patient Surprises Everyone”
On October first, after three weeks of paralysis, Peg is in bed rehearsing her new joke for Dr. Bevis when her leg itches. Without thinking, she scratches it. Shocked, Peg yells to nearby nurses, wiggling her fingers in joy. Over the next few days, Peg rapidly improves. Soon, she can use both hands and arms, then is able to sit up—first for 2 minutes then eventually for half an hour. Movement returns to her legs, and while her arms remain extremely weak, she learns to feed herself again. Soon, Peg can hold a book to read, which provides her with new entertainment and an outlet to lose herself in. She begins reading aloud to Tommy, who is still in the iron lung. The doctors and nurses dote on Peg as their star patient. A week after Peg first moves her hand, Dr. Bevis wants to see if she can stand by herself, but as soon as the nurses let go, she topples. Nevertheless, Peg continues her treatments, and each small achievement is celebrated. She also wonders why she is recovering when other patients, like Tommy, might spend the rest of their lives in the iron lung. Dr. Bevis explains that many people have more severe cases because they wait much longer to seek help. Peg asks how she got polio when no one in her town got it. Dr. Bevis says many have it but never know it because their symptoms are so slight.
Peg receives gifts from family and friends. One large package contains letters from her classmates, who complain about their dress code, their haircuts, or a recent basketball game. Peg feels like she’s reading about a different lifetime, because her peers are upset about such unimportant things. Just a few weeks earlier, Peg was worried about the same things, but now, having faced death, pain, loneliness, and uncertainty about the future, she realizes that none of these insignificant concerns matter. Now, she will happily wear anything to school as long as she can actually walk into class herself someday. One boy writes that Peg should be glad she’s not there because she’s missing tests and homework, but Peg disagrees—she misses everything about normal life, even the unpleasant parts. Peg understands that her life has changed forever and feels closer to Tommy than ever was with her friends back home, for “Tommy [understands] what it was like to have polio; [her] school friends could never know” (71).
Chapter 8 Summary: “Roommates”
By mid-October, Peg is discharged from University Hospital and sent back to Sheltering Arms for rehabilitation. Peg is devastated to leave Tommy and Dr. Bevis. Peg gives Tommy her radio because in all their time together, no one ever visited Tommy; his family lives far too away. Dr. Bevis says he’ll see her again when she returns to walk for him. At Sheltering Arms, Peg is placed in a large room with four other girls: Dorothy, Shirley, Renée, and Alice. Each girl is at a different stage in the journey to recovery. Dorothy, 14, has been at the Sheltering Arms for two months and hopes to learn to walk with leg braces. Shirley, also 14, was in the hospital for seven months and struggles with breathing issues, back pain that only allows her to sit in a wheelchair for brief periods, and lack of movement in her legs. Renée, 12 years old like Peg, is learning to walk with leg braces and walking sticks. At one point, these three were all in iron lungs, which makes Peg optimistic for Tommy’s chances at recovery.
Peg meets her last roommate, Alice, 13, who has been at the Sheltering Arms since she was three years old. She has had polio for 10 years and now lives at the Sheltering Arms full-time because her parents didn’t want to care for her for the rest of their lives. Alice’s situation makes Peg realize that “there [is] something worse than having polio” (79). At least Peg’s own parents will welcome her home, no matter what her condition happens to be. She has never thought of herself as privileged, but she now sees how lucky she is to have parents who love her and care for her unconditionally. After hearing Alice’s story, she decides that she’ll do everything her new therapist, Miss Ballard, says, in order to maximize her recovery, even if Miss Ballard is worse than Mrs. Crab.
Chapter 9 Summary: “Sunday Visitors”
Peg’s new physical therapist, Miss Ballard, is young, pretty, and kind. She requests Peg’s movements instead of demanding them , and she praises Peg often, even when Peg isn’t able to do everything asked of her. Miss Ballard doesn’t want Peg to be in pain during their sessions and insists that they can always stop the moment Peg says the word. Miss Ballard’s methods garner Peg’s trust, and therefore, when things begin to hurt during their sessions, Peg doesn’t tell Miss Ballard right away. Peg also begins to look forward to physical therapy sessions, and each day, she accomplishes a little more.
Peg eventually gets a wheelchair and is allowed to sit up for an hour at a time. Her parents visit her every Sunday, yet during the first visit, Peg finds herself annoyed that they can’t have privacy from her roommates. Eventually, Peg becomes more tolerant because she realizes that they rarely if ever get visitors. For example, Shirley’s family has only visited twice in the past seven months, and although Dorothy’s family attempts to come once a month, they are sometimes unable to make the trip. Renée’s family writes but doesn’t often visit, and Alice’s family abandoned her entirely years ago.
Peg’s parents agree to visit all the girls next Sunday and bring treats for everyone. Renèe asks for a comic book, Shirley asks for marshmallows, Dorothy asks for licorice, and Alice doesn’t know what to request. Peg realizes that Alice has never left the Sheltering Arms and, therefore, that “[s]he didn’t know what to ask for because she did not know what she was missing” (88). Peg’s parents opt to surprise Alice with a gift of their choosing. The visit is eye-opening for Peg, and “from that moment on, [she is) glad to share [her] visiting family with [her] roommates” (88). The next Sunday, all the girls are excited for Peg’s parents to visit, even Alice. Peg’s parents arrive along with Peg’s older brother, Art, and present the girls with all their gifts. Peg is sad when her parents have to leave each week, but Alice keeps her grounded, for she understands that while she only has to wait one week to see her parents again, Alice’s will never return.
Chapters 7-9 Analysis
In this section, Kehret inserts some important educational material about polio in the guise of a conversation that Peg has with Dr. Bevis. Thus, just as she maintains the forward momentum of the narrative, she also manages to convey crucial information in such a way as to simultaneously entertain and inform. Kehret has already established her ethos—her credentials—through her own research, the trusted expertise of many medical professionals, and the facts learned within the bounds of her own experiences with polio. Yet, she also remains transparent about the fact that her own knowledge and experience is just one perspective out of hundreds of thousands. Kehret’s experience with overcoming the effects of polio, while a miraculous story of recovery and an inspiring example of courage and motivation, is by no means representative of a “typical” polio case; in fact, there is no such thing, for the disease affects each patient somewhat differently. This idea is further reinforced with the range of challenges that Peg’s new roommates at the Sheltering Arms face in their own paths to recovery. As with Tommy, Peg’s connections with the girls form easily through their mutual experiences with polio. Unlike Tommy, however, the girls are around her age, which provides the ideal foundation for even closer connections. While Peg’s values and perceptions are already shifting significantly as she is forced to reevaluate her life from the perspective of her multiple disabilities, the stark reality of her roommates’ comparatively worse situations and lack of family support give Peg a new appreciation for her family’s unwavering support. Peg’s peers remind her “how lucky [she] was, not only to have parents who [love her], but parents who [are] able to care for [her] and meet [her] needs, whatever they might be” (80). They help Peg to fully appreciate the many benefits she still enjoys, rather than focusing on all that she has lost.
The shift in Peg’s values and perceptions causes her to mature rapidly: a crucial part of her recovery efforts. While such growing maturity speaks well of the young Peg, it also symbolizes the loss of her innocence and the irreversible changes that polio has wrought upon her life. Her illness has essentially stolen her childhood, her naivety, and her freedom. Letters from her friends complaining about mundane things like unfair basketball games and bad haircuts strike Peg as ridiculous in comparison to the worries that occupy her mind. Early maturity is often rewarded in children because it is associated with better behavior. However, if a child is “mature for their age,” it can often indicate that they are enduring immense external pressures. In Peg’s case, her disease has forced her to take on more stress and responsibility than children her age ever experience. Her typical childhood rebelliousness is not completely lost during her recovery, but it is soon tamed as her journey lengthens. As she eases into this new lifestyle, Peg benefits greatly from both her parents’ visits and the friendship of her roommates, which emphasizes The Value of Connection in Recovery.
While Peg becomes used to the physical pain and discomfort of therapy, she continues to experience Emotional Turmoil Throughout Recovery in a variety of ways. Her emotions fluctuate from joy at her progress to guilt over her comparatively quick recovery while her roommates languish on much longer healing journeys. This section of Kehret’s memoirs therefore strives to illustrate the pride and joy of recovery, but also the sadness, impatience, and disappointment that accompany it. In contrast to the loss of independence Peg felt when she first developed paralysis and was at the mercy of the nurses and doctors around her, this section marks the moment in which Peg begins to regain her psychological independence just as she regains her ability to move. Accordingly, Kehret creates a strong contrast between the borderline cruelty of Mrs. Crab and the kindness of Miss Ballard in order to emphasize how powerfully a compassionate and considerate approach can improve a patient’s motivation, mental health, and recovery. Her willingness to give Peg control over the pace and intensity of their sessions provides the girl with the assurance and confidence she needs to pay attention to her own body and adjust accordingly. This comfort allows Peg to “always let [Miss Ballard] go a little beyond the point where it hurt, so [Peg] would get well that much faster” (83).
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