In recent years, living history events have become a popular venue for couples to take their marital vows. The Renaissance and American Civil War periods tend to be the most popular. In Florida weddings can also take place at a pre-historic Indian mound, in 16th century St. Augustine, or at one of several Seminole War sites. Hilary Hallam and Richard Boone chose the living history time-line at Emerson Point in Palmetto for their wedding. Reenactor friends Trudy and Matthew Williams, Bradenton prepared the wedding feast. Pat 'Walking Owl' Murphy and Candy. with Ed and Marsha Taylor from the Florida Frontiersmen presided over the Native American style ceremony. Bill Westfall, Seminole was the Best Man attended with his wife, Sandy. And there was Gabrial Libraty, a saddle maker from Myakka City.

I first met Hillary at the DeSoto National Memorial a few years ago. She had decided to take up reenacting and wanted some advice on where to find appropriate fabrics and patterns for period clothing. She seemed very determined to do this despite the fact she was maneuvering around our 16th century encampment on an electric scooter.

The next time I ran into Hilary was at the Alafia River Rendezvous. Sure enough, she had not only made herself comfortable clothes, she had made a costume for her scooter as well, turning it into a pony!

Hilary and Richard are polio survivors. Hilary lives in England and Richard in Florida. They met on the World Wide Web in 1997. Hilary explained their first virtual encounter this way.

"The president of the Finish Polio Association had created an enormous out-cry when he announced on the Polio List that Santa had built a town just six miles up the road from where he lived. He said that anyone who wanted to write a letter to Santa could email it to him and he would deliver it. Well the Alaskans protested that he didn't live in Finland and the Canadians said he didn't live in Finland either. I said, 'Well I'm going to write him a letter." I wrote "Dear Santa, I want a man who is six feet tall ... that sort of thing. The Polio List goes world-wide and when Richard saw my letter to Santa he thought it was funny, and he replied!"

Richard and Hilary fast became friends, instant messaging each other everyday — he at 5:00 p.m., she at 10 p.m. Finally Richard invited her to fly to Florida so they could travel to a Polio conference together. Hilary's daughter told her "Go for it!"

In May 2000, Richard met Hilary at the Tampa airport where they saw each other for the first time. When they stopped at the toll booth to pay, "The woman said, "You look like a lovely couple. Been together long?" We told her, "Twenty minutes!"

The Boone's have a way of laughing at their disabilities that nurtured their relationship. Richard introduced Hilary to reenacting at a Florida Frontiersmen shoot. Richard was a silversmith and as well as blacksmithing. He made his own flintlock rifles and did some restoration work. Now he works on mostly pistols.

Richard took Hilary to the Alafia River Rendezvous. She looked around and said, "I could do this." Surprised, Richard replied, "You could?"

Every year you can see Hilary and Richard scooting around the Alafia River Rendezvous, Hilary on her "horse" and Richard in his wheelchair "chuck-wagon." Richard explains, "We need help to load the car, to unload, to put up tent.. and reverse. Its tough managing getting up from camp beds, etc., but the enjoyment and the memories far outweigh the problems. Oh and it takes ten days to get ready for ten days away and ten days to recover. Without the help that we receive we could not do this. The Florida Frontiersmen are wonderful.

Hilary was pleasantly surprised at how accepted they were. Many asked to take photo of her on her horse decorated scooter to show relatives with a scooter what they might too do, to join in parades, etc. But for the first time since Post Polio Syndrome and disability had entered my life, no-one asked what was wrong with me. Someone did ask, "What make is it?" and I said, "Apalucia." No, " they said, "the scooter, you nut!"

As for reenacting, Hilary says, " I think the most important issue is that folks who become less able, really want to take part in life but are worried about how they are seen.. how difficult it is to ask for help. The one thing I would love to see is more folks with their wheels decorated. I don't think just being on the wheels is good enough.. I think they should minimally be covered with an appropriate blanket or a hide."

Back in the UK, Hilary founded the Lincolnshire Post-Polio Network. It is run by volunteers with no government funding. Find out more about Post-Polio Syndrome at www.lincolnshirepostpolio.org.uk
The mere mention of "polio" struck terror into the hearts and minds of Americans during the first half of the 20th century. Polio lurked everywhere: families stayed at home; swimming pools were closed; public events were canceled. A disease caused by three viruses , polio enters the mouth, grows in the intestines and passes along the nerves into the brain and then the spinal cord. The polio viruses entered nerves in the brain and spinal cord and took over their 'metabolic factory', causing the nerves to stop working normally just to produce poliovirus. During this invasion, the infected nerves could not function and muscles in the arms, legs, chest, diaphragm and throat became weak or were paralyzed. If someone had muscle weakness or paralysis, 90% of their motor nerves were affected by the polio virus and at least 50% were killed. The remaining nerves, although damaged, were able to work again and sent out sprouts (like extra telephone lines) to turn on the muscles that were orphaned when their nerves died. There are 1.63 million polio survivors in American alone, not to mention the millions of others in Europe and around the world.

With the introduction of the Salk inactivated polio vaccine in 1954 and the Sabin oral polio vaccine in 1961, the number of paralytic cases decreased to a handful per year. Polio had vanished and no longer was on the consciousness of Americans. The elimination of polio was a tremendous achievement for science and American medicine.

However, in the late 1970s, survivors of paralytic polio began to notice new health problems that included fatigue, pain, and new weakness, thought not to be "real" by the medical establishment. The term "post-polio syndrome" (PPS) was coined by these patients to emphasize their new health problems.

The nerves, damaged by polio, that were overworked for years can no longer take the strain. So too, overworked muscles ache and joints hurt after decades of doing too much work with too little muscle support. The body is growing really tired of doing too much work.

Polio Survivors basically need to conserve energy to stop blowing their bodies 'fuses'. Polio survivors must walk less, use needed assistive devices (a brace, crutches, a scooter), and pace and rest in their daily activities, stopping before pain and fatigue set in and then resting to allow their muscles to recover so that they can do the action again. Those who stop the "overuse abuse" find that the fatigue, weakness and pain subsides.

"People with PPS call this energy conservation, 'Going Green,'" Hillary explains. "We have ten energy tokens a day, seventy a week and we have to plan how to spend them. It's all about pacing ourselves... taking it easy... and knowing when to stop."