ITALY AT WORK

lltB1‘-I AtsaPerspectivesPersp·ectivest, zllI1.t4553%iANewsday article reprinted and distrib­distributedby The Italic Way.TO MAKE A DIFFERENCEBySusan MillerHenry Viscardi Jr. often sayshe has led two lives.The ftrSt first one started 76 yearsago, when Visardi's mother gave birthto a boy with short. short, twisted legswrapped around his abdomen.The boy, whose parentswerepoor Italian immigrants.immigrants,spent his first six years in a hospi~ hospital.tat. The doctors operated repeat­repeatedly;pain was constant.At lastthe stumps were straightened andmade strong enough ro to be fittedwith padded boots that resembledboxing gloves.' 'His l-lis playmates lOwered toweredover him, and because his armsnearly touched the ground theyl called him "Ape “Ape Man!' Man.” EvenNhcn when he was full grown~ grown, he stoodonly 3 feet, 8 inches tall."I “I used to ask mymother, 'Why ‘Why me?' me?’ said Viscardi, de­dclightedto ro repeat an often-rold often-told tale. talc."And “And in her simple peasant voice sherold told me that when it was time for anothercrippled boy to be born bom in the world, thelL0rd Lord and His counselor held a meetingto decide where he be should be sent. TheLord then said He thought the Viscardiswould be a good family for alittlecrippled boy."For more than 20 years-as — as aNew York street urchin, college studentand young tax expcrt—hc pen-he propelled propcllcd hissturdy torso through city crowds andignored ridicule and stares of pity.He was27 when whcn his second lifebegan.Dr. Roben Robert Yanovcr, an ortho­orthopedicsurgeon in Elmhurst [New York],told the disabled young man that hisstumps, worn down by constant use,would only Last last another six months."With “With all the running around I'd beendoing on these stumps, hethought Iwould be confmed confined to a wheelchair ifnothing was done," done,“ Viscardi said.y Yanover, anover' now a neighbor ofViscardi's in Kings Point. Point, thought theyoung man could be fitted with a pair ofartificial Limbs. limbs. The doctor madesketches and specifications, and togetherDr. Viscardi Vlscardt joins In a lessonthey started the rounds of the artificiallimb-makers.One after another, theseartisans examined Viscardi's stumps slumps andgave. the same verdict: verdict; impossible.Buttheydidn'tgive they dido up. Fi!Jally, Finally,an old German immigrant named GeorgeDorsch said he could do it.Within a few weeks, the artifi­artificiallegs were wcrcrcady ready for l'orViscardi to try on.His stumps were wcrc slipped into the cushioneioitcdsockets and strapped fast.Dorsch hclpcd helped him to stand andViscardi LOOk took his first steps toward a :1 full­full-cushlengtlcngihmirror at the thc end of the room. He Hcst.ancd startcd to cry when he saw his reflection. rcllcction.Here I-Icrc was a new man, he thought to him-self, who stood two feet taller. "For “For thefirst time, my mother looked up, up. up ro tosee her son," son,“ Viscardi said. "I "l lookeddown at the rop top of her head." head.”Viscardi could wind the clockon the manteL; mantel; he could grasp the suapon the subway train; he could even workthe dial in a phone booth. "These thingshad always been beyond my reach," hesaid. "An “An exciting new world opened upand with it, a new life began."He learned to dance; he built aboat and sailed on Long IslandSound, and was promoted ro tohead the New York tax divisionof the Home Owners LoanCorp., a program set up duringthe Depression to cope withhome foreclosures.When Viscardi askedYanoverhow he could settLe settle thebill, "Herold “He told me my bill wouldbe repaid if I made the differ­differencefor another individual." individual.”Viscardi, who (was [washonored in Augustl988] 1988] by theWesthampton Wcsthampton [New York]Family Counseling Service, hasnot taken Yanover's Yanovcr’s wordslightly.World War II started, and Vis· Viscardiwas rejected by the Anny, Navy,Air Force and Marines. Finally the RedCross accepted him as a field-serviceofficer, but warned wanted that his chances ofworking with amputees were slim.Like all Red Cross personnelslated for overseas duty, Viscardi had totake GI basic training. He took the longhikes at Fort Dix without grumbling.His story got around. Instead of beingposted overseas, he was sent to workwith armless and legless leglcss veterans atWalter Reed Hospital in Washington,D.C.The sight of those young menwould return to haunt Viscatdi Viscardi manytimes. "More “More than anything else in mylife, lifc, I l was so affected by those beautiful!;;;;;;;;;;;;=;;;The Italic Way16Fall 1988