Charles Hilmon Castle, Salt Lake City, Utah: an interview by Becky B. Lloyd, January 23, 2010

Transcript (33 pages) of interview(s) by Becky B. Lloyd with Dr. Charles Hilmon Castle on January 23, 2010

Castle (b. 1928) was born in Webster County, Mississippi. He discusses his family, schooling and growing up in rural Mississippi. He contracted polio in 1936 at age eight. He felt ill for several days and afterward carried an abnormal gait. His father took him to Warm Springs, Georgia, to consult with an orthopedic physician there. They refused the physician's proposed treatment of tendon transplantation. He received no additional treatment, therapy or medical care related to polio. He reports residual weakness in both feet, although he was able to participate in a variety of sports throughout his life. Due to deteriorating ankles, he had fusion surgery in 1985 and 1994. He reports no noticeable post-polio syndrome effects. Dr. Castle graduated from high school in 1945 and completed undergraduate studies at the University of Mississippi. He attended medical school there for two years before transferring to Duke University in North Carolina. He completed a medical internship at Duke and residency in internal medicine at the University of Utah. He was drafted into the Air Force in 1954 and for two years served active duty as a base physician in Madrid, Spain. He returned to Utah and completed a fellowship in cardiology and practiced at the University of Utah until retiring in 1998. Dr. Castle discusses his work providing care for polio patients. While serving as commander of the dispensary for the Utah Air National Guard, he oversaw distribution of the polio vaccine to Guard members. This interview is part of the Polio Oral History Project. Interviewer: Becky B. Lloyd