Reply #9: Apparently when paralysis first hit FDR [View All]

[elperromagico]

it was total. He couldn't move his arms and had some facial paralysis which passed within a few weeks. In order to compensate for his weak legs, FDR worked on developing his upper body. Jack Dempsey (the boxer) said at one time that FDR had the strongest shoulders he'd ever seen. The thin legs are common among those in wheelchairs.

The weight loss has been attributed to a number of things. One claim is that FDR had cancer; another is that he had heart disease (which is more likely). Jim Bishop states in FDR's Last Year that FDR suffered a heart attack during his fourth inaugural address. FDR had lost so much weight in his final year that his leg braces no longer fit properly. This caused him to put more of his weight on his arms, and he complained to his son James that he felt a sharp pain radiating through his chest and arms during the speech.

I think the cerebral hemmorhage was due to poor eating habits (his blood pressure was extremely high by 1944) and the fact that FDR was a lifelong smoker.

Edit: Cleaned up an insensitively-phrased sentence.