doc? i'm sorry, you're franklin roosevelt, aren't you?
no.
i'm helena mahoney. i'm a physical therapist. you have no idea who i am, do you?
i wrote you a letter right after i saw the article in the paper. didn't you read it?
he's open right there.
i've been studying the effects of moist heat on polio patients and i think with repeated exercise in warm water.
yes.
well, you're the doctor.
no ramps, no running water, no doctors.  from the article in the newspaper i assumed this was a rehabilitation center.
i feel like i was brought here under false pretenses.
push against my hand.
your gluteus maximus is better than i hoped. it will serve you well.
i'm serious. your right leg has some movement along the thigh. that's good because we can use it to help extend your hip, flex your knee and rotate your tibia.
the water may help build some strength i'm not able to see yet. but to do that you would need to swim in the water much of the day. not the limited hours you have now. a beat) why should this place cater to a few able-bodied folk when it could be opened year round with polios?
woodhall, this is eloise. lift her gently.
very good! watch her braces.
good news.  i raided the pool hall. i call them my push boys.
excellent, fred! keep going.
i don't think words describe adequately what daisy and i would like to show all of you. are you ready, daisy?
it's not as bad as you think.
i already.
"of the twenty three patients examined only one, a forty-four year old male, showed little visible signs of improvement" this is one doctor's opinion, franklin.
"there is marked falling away of the muscle masses on either side of the spine in the lower lumbar region. his lower extremities present a most depressing picture."
"i feel after studying him that the psychological factor in his management is paramount. he has such courage and ambition. yet at the same time he is such an extraordinarily sensitive emotional mechanism.
 that it will take all the skill which we can muster to lead him successfully to a recognition of his severe physical limitations without crushing him."
and you still might. this report legitimizes we've worked so hard for. we can raise funs now. it could change everything!
franklin, i won't play this game. i won't feel sorry for you.
i met a boy today, ten years old. he's paralyzed from the waist down. why don't you go regale him with vivid tales about your trips to europe and playing football at school. tell him how you courted your wife and fathered children. tell him of a life he can only dream of. i can't help you out of a hole if i climb in with you. then we're both stuck.
why don't you read it?
make you dizzy, lionel.
the governor of new york. handing it to lionel) why don't you slide it under his door?
the millions listening on radio won't be able to see that.
franklin, let go of your crutches. you're not going to need them.
we're going to make your arms function as your legs.
elliot, go to your father and stand on his left side.
eleanor, take the crutch.
now use your right shoulder and pull your left leg forward.
good! now with the muscles in your left shoulder, pull your right leg.
that's what elliot is for. he's going to hold you up. hitch your leg! come on!
elliot, don't lean in -- stand up straight. pull against him. he needs you!
you can do this, franklin! keep going!
this isn't a replacement for the real work we're doing to get you on your feet again, understand? no one is throwing in the towel or even agreeing with that doctor's report.
i know it's not practical --
take a moment to catch your breath.
sure, doc.
it's beautiful.
i'll try not to. good luck, franklin.
you've faced worse. and if they bite, you can come back here.