Public Perception Essay

Robert F. Murphy

When people think about Robert Murphy they usually think about a person who lost the use of their legs, and traveled the world to learn about the things that he loved most. There is more to his story though, there are a lot more emotional aspects to this story, and it makes you think about how it affected his life. From childhood there had been signs of something being wrong with him, but they had been misdiagnosed and ignored. These symptoms became clearer as his life went on and the problem was not about to go away. It was only the beginning of the greatest and most unforgettable journey he would ever undergo in his life time.

As a young child, Robert liked to run around and play with his friends, as many children do when they are young. It was at the age of five when he had his first signs that something was wrong with him, and it was misdiagnosed as a case of rheumatism. That was the first mistake. If it had been correctly diagnosed and treated at this time, Robert might have been able to walk and have the use of his arms when he was older. If the hospitals had had the technology and knowledge back then, they could have diagnosed Robert’s problem and may have prevented was happening to him.

In his 40’s he started to have muscle cramps/spasms and thought that it was just from lifting something heavy the day before. Robert thought that it would go away in a couple days or so, but it never did. He was forced one day to go to a doctor by his wife, and it was a good thing that he did. He was not very smart to have not wanted to go to the doctor in the first place, because this could have also have prevented him from being unable to walk, and use his arms.

In his later years his problem was diagnosed, but by this time he was not able to walk very well, or hold anything in his left hand. Robert could not go anywhere without someone with him because he was unable to drive, and he could not go out on the street because it was too crowded and it was poorly paved so it was hard for him to control his wheelchair.

Many people underestimate what this man went through, and they don’t really think about what this can do to a person’s life. Even with what this man went through he still had high hopes, and did not let his disability get to him. Many people looked at him differently when he was in a wheelchair and he did not want to be treated differently because of this. Many people may have felt sorry for him and thought that it was weird for him to now be like this, so they could not talk to him because it was weird.