Thanks to the technology Past President ivan Bartolome had at his firm, Prestonwood was able to resume its regular Wednesday afternoon meetings and continue to bring in speakers through Zoom. This added to our collective knowledge of cujrrent events and important developments.
Among the first speakers were Dr. Sonja Bartolome (Ivan’s wife and more than better half), a UT Southwestern pulmonologist, who is representing the hospital in explaining that risks Covid-19 presents to us.
Dr. Bartolome was able to put into perspective both the realities and myths about Corona virus, a presentation that isn’t all that easy to find these days. And because many of us have lived through at least one other major pandemic, our club President Joe Levy was able to bring us Jim Lewis, a California Rotarian, long active in promoting Rotary International’s efforts to eradicate polio worldwide.
Sometimes we forget just how widespread and tragic the polio epidemic was in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, before Dr. Jonas Salk was able to develop a vaccine that all be eliminate polio’s terible consequences. As a boy Jim Lewis was a victim of polio, which imbedded in him the strongest of desires to work to eliminate this disease. Two pandemic separated by many generations, yet their message still rings clearly, and Prestonwood Rotary was most grateful to have the speakers enlighten us.