Diving injury 21 years ago didn’t keep Jerry Boyko from moving on with his life

By Bev Davis
Register-Herald senior editor

December 15, 2007 10:08 pm

— It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Jerry Boyko’s mom had dropped him off at the New River Park pool. The healthy, carefree teenager had no inkling this day would change his world forever.
“I was very active and had played baseball from the age of 8, but I had reached the age limit for playing Babe Ruth baseball,” said the Prosperity native, who now lives in Charleston and works in Huntington. “I had a lot of free time, and that summer I spent most of it on my BMX bike and at the pool. My senior year was just ahead of me, and I was looking forward to going back to school.”
He and a lifeguard started a contest to see who could dive the farthest across the width of the pool.
“We were diving off the 5-foot section, but we weren’t worried about the depth because we were diving outward, not down,” Boyko said.
After about a dozen times, the pair decided to make one last dive to determine the winner.
“We backed up to the edge of the grass to get as much speed as possible before diving. As I approached the pool, my stride wasn’t going to line up with the water’s edge. I double-stepped to adjust, but when I hit the edge, I bounced straight up instead of shooting out.”
It didn’t hurt when he hit the bottom of the pool, but he heard something in his body crack.
“I knew something was wrong because I couldn’t come up out of the water. I hoped somebody would notice and help me before I drowned,” the experienced swimmer said. “I heard somebody say, ‘Come on, Boyko, quit messing around!’ I was on my last breath when Glenn Casto lifted me up out of the water. I told him I couldn’t move.”
Since that hot July day 21 years ago, Boyko has never ridden a bike, played baseball or gone swimming. He suffered a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the neck down.
“I’m a quadriplegic. All four limbs are affected,” Boyko said. “I have gotten quite a bit of use in my arms back. I can’t move my fingers, but I can use my hands.”
Determined to find a way to overcome obstacles, Boyko uses the side of his hand to click a computer mouse and the palm of his hand to move it around.
“I’ve learned to use my wrists more. I can use a computer in almost a normal way. I don’t use any special equipment,” he said.
However, his indomitable spirit has the 38-year-old man doing a lot of things that surprise his friends and acquaintances who have no physical limitations.
Boyko spent two weeks at Raleigh General Hospital before entering Frazier Rehabilitation Center in Louisville, Ky.
“We had two hours of physical therapy and two hours of occupations therapy each day. I was very weak in the beginning and could only sit up in my wheelchair for a couple of hours at a time,” he recalled.
His competitive spirit kicked in to Boyko’s advantage.
“A few days after I arrived at Frazier, another boy around my age with a similar injury became my roommate. We began a competition in therapy to see who could perform certain exercises longer. I believe the competitiveness was good for both of us. We improved quicker and had a lot of fun in the process.”
Nevertheless, physical therapy was painful, and it was difficult for Boyko to be away from home for so long.
Boyko found ways to challenge himself and kept self-pity at bay.
“The first few months were both frustrating and exciting all at the same time. When you are used to being so active and able to do whatever you want, whenever you want, and then in a split second, you can’t even raise your arms over your head, you get a little angry,” he said.
“But when you see yourself making progress and being able to do some things you couldn’t do the day before, you get motivated to keep getting better.”
When he got home, there was a wheelchair ramp on the front of his home. Otherwise, much remained the same.
“Luckily, our house was a single-story ranch, so I didn’t have any stairs to worry about. Mom had made arrangements for an in-home health care company to come in and help with my care and therapy.”
When his mom asked if he wanted to return to school, Boyko was eager to hit the books again.
“It was too late to start my senior year on time, so I had a tutor to keep me up to speed until the second semester started.”
Using a wheelchair and his rehab training, Boyko decided to reclaim his life.
“Going back to school was an important step for me to get back into a normal lifestyle. This is another instance of resuming a part of my life where I had left off,” he said. “Nothing had changed about me except my physical limitations. Whenever there was an issue surrounding my physical limits, I would try to find a way around it.”
Today, he works at Standard Alarm Co. in Huntington. “We install residential and commercial security systems, CCTV and access systems and take care of banking equipment, ATMS and drive-through equipment.”
He manages the office, takes care of the computer network, coordinates service requests and supports technicians by programming the alarm systems and providing them with information they need about various accounts.
Boyko doesn’t remember a single turning point in his life and credits his optimistic spirit and the encouragement of family and friends with getting him where he is today.
Recently, he built a Web site designed to help other people with spinal cord injuries.
“This is my attempt to show other people who may be dealing with a devastating injury, disease or other life-altering situation that life goes on, and you can still get out there and have a good life.
He was inspired through a book written by Mike King, who became a paraplegic after a motorcycle accident. King wheeled 5,600 miles from Alaska to Washington, D.C., in 120 days.
“He sent me the book shortly after I was injured, and when I read it, I thought maybe someday I would be able to help inspire other people the way he inspired me,” Boyko said.
Boyko also uses www.jerryboyko.com to thank people who’ve helped him financially, through encouragement and just for being a part of his incredible journey to wholeness.
“I’m reaching out to everyone through this site to say thank you and to try to learn as much as possible about what everyone did to help us. I would love to hear from all my friends, those who came to the hospital and anyone who was involved in any way to support us,” Boyko said.
His basic advice to others? “Don’t focus on what you can’t do or what your limitations are. Focus on what you can do and set your goals from there.”
— E-mail: bdavis@register-herald.com

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