BOULDER Matters Volume 23, No. 2 • summer 2013
Story of Hope
Gershon Ron: Rescuing a Survivor in Need
Gershon Ron has endured more than his
share of hard times in his 84 years of life. Originally from Czechoslovakia, he witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust firsthand as a teenager. He made it through three concentration camps alive. He was a survivor then and, with a little recent support from Boulder JFS, he’s a survivor now. Gershon lives in Fleischmanns, New York, a small, quaint community in the Catskills. He’s very active for his age, and enjoys tennis, skiing, and spending time with his many friends. Gershon is a published author. His autobiography, My Little Blue Tattoo, documents his life, including his time under Nazi rule. Last summer he went on the trip of a lifetime: a visit to the concentration camps where he was imprisoned, accompanied by one of his liberators and a group of students. It was monumental for him. Upon his return, he was alone in his home and got up in the middle of the night. The nightlight in the bathroom wasn’t on and somehow he tripped in the stairwell and tumbled down 14 steps. It was a terrible fall. He guesses that he was unconscious for three hours before he awoke to find that he couldn’t move any of his limbs. Covered in blood, he decided to try to get help any way he could. He crawled like a snail to the den to reach the phone. He got it with his mouth but then it fell out of reach under the sofa. Seriously injured and with no way to call for help, he was in trouble. He lay there for two-and-a-half days with nothing to eat. When concerned friends noticed his absence, they broke into his house to find the battered man. He was taken by ambulance to Albany Medical Center, where the long road to recovery began. He had broken a vertebra in his
neck, the orbital bone of one eye, his cheek, and his nose, and lost four teeth. He was dehydrated and starving. Friends called his son Odie in Boulder to come to Albany at once. Odie jumped on a plane. When he finally saw his father, he was actually relieved. His imagination had run wild and he was expecting much worse. Gershon spent nine days in the trauma ward and transferred to a rehabilitation center, where he spent a month. Odie then moved him home to Fleischmanns for another 10 weeks. Gershon was still weak and needed constant care. They decided to move him to Boulder to continue his recuperation. The accident took a toll on Gershon’s finances and he needed care that he couldn’t afford. Odie reached out to several agencies in the New York area, with no luck. When they arrived in Boulder, they decided to reach out to JFS. Instantly, the wheels were set in motion. Boulder JFS care manager Cathy Summer met with Gershon and Odie and went to work on resources to help. Because Gershon is a Holocaust survivor, JFS was able to apply for financial aid from the German government, which covered his extensive dental work and provided for in-home care by JFS at Home twice a week. He formed a very close friendship with his caregiver, Laura Budko. In addition, JFS provided Gershon with a Friendly Visitor volunteer, Alicia Weiss, who met with him every Sunday for hours and provided him with great comfort and stimulating conversation. Continued on page 4
Gershon Ron