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The Health of Barking
mother up to the clinic, rather much against her mother's wishes, but she did need
her glasses changed, and Mary thought it was her bounden duty to bring her up
to the clinic.
The clinic not only provides for Mary and her child and school-children but also
for other adults, and the figures which are set forth on this page tell of the amount
of work which was done during the year. Not only do we deal with the ordinary
errors of vision but we spend quite a lot of time on squint training, which, by the
way, is quite time-consuming because each case requires very many treatments if
it is to be of any value.

Infantile Paralysis (Acute Anterior Poliomyelitis), etc.
John and Mary were sitting quietly by the fire, the baby was in the bedroom
and, of course, it wasn't long before they talked about what a wonderful baby it
was, and it wasn't very long before Mary thought of all the dreadful diseases, which
at the least would be annoying—might be dangerous and could be fatal, and John and
Mary began thinking about which disease they would choose to do away with it only
they had an opportunity of making one wish.
Now, believe it or not, they did not find this question at all easy to answer.
Mary immediately plumped for "infantile paralysis" and was a little impatient
when John wanted her to think it over. She conjured up a harrowing picture of the
baby having to live in an iron lung for a long time and then requiring months and
years of treatment afterwards and at the very end being a disabled person. It all
sounded very worrying.
"I wish I knew how many cases there were in Barking," said John, "because
we must try to keep a sense of proportion." "There you go," said Mary, "always
worrying the Medical Officer of Health." "Well, he doesn't mind," said John.
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