closed his eyes and tried to remember how he became so
lucky to have met Barbara and fallen in love.
In his childhood, there was no indication that he would
have his own home and his family. He was one of those kids
who caught polio in the fifties. He began walking
independently very late, and that was only thanks to the
persistence of his grandmother. She carried him on her
back and brought him to school. She carried him up and
down the stairs. Stubbornly she made him practice.
Nothing deterred her. She always repeated that since she
survived Siberia and the long way back home, nothing
could stop her now.
In primary school, John felt very lonely. In the beginning,
the kids teased him, laughed at him, but his grandmother
quickly solved the problem. He was the only disabled child
in the school. No one understood him. No one knew how
lonely he felt. His escape from the surrounding world
arrived in the form of books. He read a lot. He read
everything he could get his hands on. Eventually, John was
prescribed glasses. Thanks to a wonderful teacher with real
passion, he easily made it through to high school.
In high school, he met two other boys his age, also with
paralysis of the legs. Both were less fortunate than him.
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