An Abled Life

Tom Wilczewski was stricken with polio in August of 1949, two months before his fifth birthday. He was confined to an iron lung for over one year. In 1963 he graduated from A. Harry Moore High School, in Jersey City, New Jersey. After graduation he sought employment. It was a time when accessibility for the disabled was not part of societies concerns. He was given many excuses why he could not be hired. The underlying factor was he sat in a wheelchair. After much disappointment in seeking employment he started an engraving business with his brother Ed which they successfully operated for over thirty five years. November 27, 1984, was cold and dreary. On that day the life that Tom knew came to a screeching halt. An unscrupulous and incompetent construction crew that had been building a condominium next to his house had undermined the foundation of the home and his business. The family home and Toms business were destroyed. Tom in his wheelchair with his brother Ed and their nearly blind father barely escaped being trapped in the crumbling red brick dwelling. The Wilczewski family fought their way back from this devastating blow---Tom with his brother Ed started their business over again at another location in their downtown neighborhood. The high point in Toms life was marrying Antoinette who was equally accomplished and like Tom had polio.