“[Shriners Children’s Lexington] turned my life around,” JT said. “I could exist with other children my age; I didn’t have to sit on the sidelines.”
As a young child, JT was diagnosed with polio, a highly infectious disease that attacks the nervous system. Growing up in Rossville, Georgia, he and his family learned about Shriners Children's from an Alhambra Shriner who worked alongside JT’s father at a textile mill. When he was 8, JT boarded a train bound for Lexington for an evaluation to see if Shriners Children's could help with the muscular impact caused by the polio. In 1950, at the age of 10, he began what would become a 10-month stay at Shriners Children’s Lexington’s original facility – a 20-bed wing connected to the Children’s Ward of Good Samaritan Hospital.
Within a week of arriving, JT underwent surgery and woke to find his right leg in a cast stretching from his toes to his hip.
During recovery, JT’s days followed a rhythm: breakfast, school, lunch, rest and then dinner in the late afternoon. After dinner, JT played cards with the other patients in the wing and the second shift nurse, who he fondly remembers as the most giving person he ever met. JT said that the structure and routine at Shriners Children’s Lexington taught him discipline, something that stayed with him long after he returned home.
When he was finally discharged, the staff and patients threw him a farewell party.
When you have been somewhere for 10 months – and you haven’t been home – and you cry when you leave, you know it had to be good.
Before leaving, JT was given a walker for his recovery. When he arrived back in Rossville, he stepped off the bus to find a taxi waiting to take him and his parents home. However, knowing their house was close by, JT was determined to walk all the way using his new walker. That first walk home was a milestone, and he continued to grow stronger every day.
Soon after his recovery, JT made the Rossville Little League All-Star Team and even went on to play on the Georgia All-State team.
“To be able to run and compete with people my age, it was a miracle,” he said.
JT’s involvement with Shriners Children's didn’t end with that first stay. He returned to Shriners Children’s Lexington for another operation, where he stayed for 10 weeks after an infection. He would visit every three to six months for follow-up appointments and check-ups. Additionally, JT was an Alhambra Shriners Patient Ambassador and was even picked up by the chief of police, who was a Shriner, once every few months for special events at the Temple.
JT stayed in touch with friends he met in the hospital wing, including a girl from Cincinnati and a boy from Knoxville, for many years. Those bonds, formed through shared courage and care, were a lasting reminder of the community he found at Shriners Children's.
Now, more than seven decades later, JT still resides in Rossville with his wife. Together, they had two daughters and a granddaughter who lives in Lexington. On a recent visit to the new facility, JT was amazed by the advancements in pediatric orthopedics, especially in the Pediatric Orthotic and Prosthetic Services (POPS) department. But what touched him most was meeting Rosalie, a current patient whose joy and determination reminded him of his own childhood days at Shriners Children's.
When asked why he continues to give back, JT doesn’t hesitate: “It means the world. I know I can never repay them for what they’ve done, but I feel if we can help out a little bit, then that’s the best money we’ll spend.”
As Shriners Children’s Lexington celebrates 100 years of care and looks forward to the next century, JT hopes that the organization will retain its position as a worldwide leader in specialty pediatric care.
JT credits Shriners Children’s with giving him the ability to walk again, and ultimately, the beautiful life he has been able to live. His story is one of resilience, friendship and gratitude; it is a testament to the life-changing care Shriners Children’s Lexington has provided for 100 years and will continue to provide.
Because of supporters like JT, children will continue to take their first steps, chase their dreams and live full, happy lives.
Help us carry this legacy into the next century. Celebrate 100 years of care at Shriners Children’s Lexington by making your special anniversary gift today.
A young JT sits with his braces on.
JT wears his braces as he learns how to ride a bike.
JT sits with one of the nurses he met during his stay at Shriners Children's Lexington.
JT sits in a wheelchair with a cast on his leg at the original Shriners Children’s Lexington facility in the Children’s Ward of Good Samaritan Hospital.
