Covid Coping -- a puzzle and a polio story

I was excited when I figured this one out.

Pick the three letters that, when placed in the same order, complete the following words:

1. E _ _ _ P
2. _ _ _ C K
3. S _ _ _ S H
4. L I _ _ _ D
5. T E _ _ _ L A

Here is a story about polio. My kids 32-35-39 probably don't know much about polio. The 32 year old just heard this story from his girlfriend, Rainbow. Rainbow's mom, Nancy decided two weeks ago that she was going to stay home as long as necessary. She will have Rainbow bring her groceries and necessities but she will not let Rainbow come inside. 

At first, Rainbow thought it was going a little overboard - considering we did not have any covid cases in Des Moines, yet. So Nancy explained something. It is probably a story that Rainbow had heard, but did not connect it to our current situation until Nancy reminded her.

When Nancy was a kid, she lived through the polio epidemic. Her mom had been vigilant about doing every single thing that was recommended to keep her kids safe. Unfortunately, the family decided to go to the Iowa State Fair and Nancy's brother got polio. I have no idea if there had been any recommendation about avoiding the fair -- but the parents felt responsible (and remorseful) for making the choice. I do not know the details of the whole ordeal - other than Nancy reported that a lot of the care and rehab fell to her after he was past the infectious stage. He was able to learn to walk again and is still living, although he has a bit of a limp.

The experience left Nancy with the mindset that her choice will be to follow the most vigilant course of action. This is not an editorial. I'm not judging anyone on what they decide to do. The answer to the puzzle will appear tomorrow.