Chris Perry Column: "I'm Not A Guy Who Likes To Sit Around"

I met Gerry on a Saturday morning after I finished wandering around the Farmers & Artisans Market in town.

He was “parked” in front of the Federal Street post office, and since I was heading over to get my mail, I couldn’t help but strike up a conversation.

Listening to his accent, my instincts were correct. He lived on Long Island, but as Gerry Gianutsos put it, “I’ll always be a city guy.”

Gerry was a music teacher in Long Island City. His wife, Kristi, was also a teacher in Jackson Heights. It was clear he was very familiar with Nantucket. In fact, his grandmother lived on West Chester Street and his parents built a cottage on Millbrook Road in 1965 that eventually passed to him. Before that, his grandfather and great-uncles had a cottage on a hill overlooking Jetties Beach neighboring a cottage owned by Henry Fee.

Initially, it wasn’t easy to get Gerry to talk. We covered the usual topics from Pats versus Giants to downtown Nantucket versus Queens to accessing the island beaches and local restaurants. But it wasn’t until Gerry’s eight-year-old son, Frankie, came over to lend a hand that prompted Gerry to tell me his story.

It was Sunday afternoon February 13, 2022, and Gerry packed up his three kids to go sledding in Dix Hills.

“All three were in the car, then all three had to go to the bathroom so Frankie (now age 8), John (now age 10), and Philomena (now age 12) all got out and headed back inside. We had a new puppy that snuck outside when we opened the front door. After chasing him back up the stairs, all I remember is slipping and stumbling,” Gerry recounted.

“Once my head cleared and this bright red flash faded, the first thing I said was, ‘Frankie - go get your mom’.”

Gerry continued: “I had no sensation - no feeling. I was looking up at the trees and couldn’t move. I immediately knew my wires were cut, and eventually, my fears were confirmed - a spinal cord injury to C 4 – 5.”

In a case of brutal irony that has helped him cope with his limitations, Gerry’s father was a renowned PhD at the Rusk Institute in NY which specializes in spinal cord injuries and head trauma.

“I knew immediately,” Gerry said. “I grew up with this fear of diving into a shallow pool or playing football and getting a head injury. I saw this all the time with my dad’s patients. So, as I was laying on the ground waiting for the ambulance to arrive, I knew what was ahead of me.”

In a blink of an eye, what was ahead of Gerry was months of uncertainty bouncing between the I.C.U., surgeries, and rehab at the Kessler Institute in New Jersey before finally going home in June, paralyzed from the chest down.

And that was only the beginning.

“I had to adapt and accept,” said Gerry.

“My house – gone.”

“Biking and sailing – gone.”

“My career and estate plans – gone.”

“I lost almost everything. My family saved me. I was forced to ask my young children to do things that they should have never faced in their entire lives, and without my wife who has never left my side since, I would not be sitting here today.”

From his time watching his dad at work, Gerry knew it was a “12-month recovery.”

“I shut everything out. I knew with any neurological injury whatever point I was at in 12 months would pretty much tell me where I would be for the rest of my life,” Gerry starkly admitted.

“I focused internally. I’d do piano exercises in my head telling my fingers to move and nothing would happen,” he said. “You gotta do what you can with what you have.’

Gerry’s brutally honest and chilling summary prompted me to reach out to Mickey Rowland, chair of Nantucket’s Commission on Disability. Certainly no stranger to Nantucket, Mickey is a “lifer” on the commission having served for more than 30 years. Along with the commission’s facilitator, Brenda McDonough, Mickey works closely with the town’s Visitor’s Services department.

“Starting as far back as the 1990s, we have worked hard at getting money into the town’s budget for improvements to curb cuts and sidewalks, better access to downtown commercial areas, better access to beaches such as Children’s, Jetties and Cliffside and partnering with the town when projects upend sidewalks and streets. It’s a cause that hits close to home,” offered Rowland.

A few days later, I met up with Gerry again. Before our chance meeting on Federal Street, I had no idea Nantucket played such a huge role in his life. After a brief visit to the island in June, this was Gerry’s first extended trip “as a team” to Nantucket and I was curious what obstacles Nantucket presented to him and his family.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect. In fact, I told my wife I’d sleep in the van if I had to but I wanted to come back to Nantucket - a place that had meant so much to me and my family for over 60 years,” Gerry reminisced.

I assumed Gerry would have horror stories about cobblestone streets and limited access to restaurants and beaches. I assumed uneven sidewalks and limited curb cuts would prove to be a hurdle too cumbersome to tackle.

By Gerry’s response, I had incorrectly judged Nantucket’s accessibility for people with disabilities.

“I was pleasantly surprised. The difficulties with cobblestoned streets and curb cuts are to be expected,” said Gerry, with Frankie sitting close by as we enjoyed the view from Children’s Beach.

He continued: “It’s easy to get cynical about people as you go through life. Since I’ve been hurt, I haven’t met a person who hasn’t offered to help. People care and Nantucket has been no different. They have been amazing. I don’t know if it’s because of this chair but it does restore your faith.”

With a touch of irony and honesty, Gerry added, “I am not a guy who likes to sit around. The WAVE has been terrific. I actually taught them how to strap me in. There are places such as The Tavern and The Downyflake which have easy access for me. I found out that The Brotherhood and Kitty’s have an elevator lift to the second floor which is great. Even the Sandbar is accessible.”

I asked Gerry what had been the most difficult areas to access and he predictably mentioned anything involving a dirt road and most of the beaches. But with his infectious spirit of love and life, he mentioned his most “trying” event actually took place right in front of Nantucket Cottage Hospital.

“I was accompanying Frankie to the urgent care. As I was heading up to the entrance, I misjudged the curb and tumbled over in my chair,” he recalled. “It was quite a sight, and within seconds, it seemed like every emergency room nurse, doc, and tech were running out the front door to help me get back upright. People stopped their cars and jumped out. I had some scrapes and bruises and cut my arm but it was my fault. I guess I need to be more careful.”

Gerry Gianutsos headed back to Long Island on Friday as part of the annual mass exodus around Labor Day. Sounding a lot like most summer visitors to Nantucket, he struggled to secure ferry reservations for his specialized van to and from the island and he wished the Steamship Authority was more “compassionate about my struggles.”

Nevertheless, he survived his “trial run on Nantucket" and Gerry made a promise to return next summer with his team.

For the Gianutsos family, who have enjoyed the island for over 75 years and call Nantucket home, it must be a comforting and rewarding goal to shoot for.

For Nantucket, we need more of Gerry Gianutsos - his optimism, his grounded will to survive, his infectious dry sense of humor, and - if I know Nantucket - we will welcome him “home” again.

Safe travels, Gerry, and see you next summer.