Rose contracted polio in September, 1953, and ended up in an iron lung and rocking bed. She gave birth to her first daughter in the iron lung. She stayed in the Municipal Hospital, King George, for 4 years. Her husband built a new house to accomodate a rocking bed and wheelchair access so that she could move back home.

If the mid-1970’s, Rose started working to improve life standards for the handicapped, and in the 1980’s she got a ventilator to help her breathing. She was one of the founders for the Handi-Transit in Winnipeg, and was nominated by the YWCA for Woman of the year. She was the founder of the Post Polio Network in Manitoba, and continued working with them until the end.