JERRY'S WATERSHED YEAR

"Rarely does a person ever have the opportunity to test the limits of his ability. We can accomplish pretty much whatever we make up our minds to accomplish. If we are not forced to test our strength through dire necessity, through struggle, through hardship, we seldom discover our possibilities."- Napoleon Hill

In September, 1953, Jerry was in charge of managing the exhibits at the Santa Clara County Fair when he became very ill. He held up long enough to complete his job. He was taken to the Santa Clara County Hospital in a coma. When he woke up days later, he was paralyzed and placed into an iron lung. He had contracted poliomyelitis (polio). During that time, he had several operations, mostly to hold his head up coupled with a tracheotomy. Jerry spent 18 months in an iron lung.

After Jerry was out of the iron lung for brief periods, he was determined to spend his time at the print shop. He couldn't do much , but he could tell people what and how to do things. A worker from the shop would pick him up at the hospital in the morning so that he could work, and was returned to the hospital so he could sleep in the iron lung. Jerry's polio had paralyzed his lungs which caused him to struggle with his breathing when he was out of the iron lung. He was able to walk and move around, but that was about all he could do. Jerry weighed about 100 lbs, his head held up by a brace. He could not turn his head, and his arms were in slings. He couldn't move his fingers, and he was hand fed at the hospital with puree food and avocados. Jerry became aware by an old friend, Joyce Young, of polio treatments and surgeries done at a hospital in Rancho Los Amigos, Downey CA. She made arrangements for him to to be admitted into this hospital and drove him there where he underwent several operations on his arms and hands. This was a huge struggle for him.