Rocky Point loses a 'brave person'
Lillian Juliano lived 33 years after becoming quadriplegic
1 comments below
Although paralyzed from the neck down and unable to use her arms or legs after a tragic auto accident in 1977, Lillian Juliano managed to train as a counselor for the aging from her wheelchair. The Rocky Point resident was believed to be the longest-lived quadriplegic in the nation.
Lillian Juliano, who trained as a counselor for the aging and became an advocate for their rights after becoming paralyzed following a tragic car accident, passed away quietly at her home in Rocky Point Monday. She was 79 years old.
Ms. Juliano was believed to be the longest-living quadriplegic in America, having lived 32 years after her accident, according to her family.
"What a brave person," said Cynthia Hernly, supervisor of Adult Day Services for the Town of Brookhaven, who hired Ms. Juliano to volunteer her time reading to the elderly.
"Really, truthfully," Ms. Hernly continued, "someone else would have given up."
Ms. Juliano had just returned to the work force as stenographer at Charles T. Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson after raising five children as a homemaker, when she was paralyzed on March 18, 1977. An uninsured driver ran a stop sign at the corner of Prince Road and Odin Road, just two blocks from her home, and rammed her car sideways into a nearby telephone pole, according to her husband, Vincent. Ms. Juliano's head hit a door pillar, which severed her spinal cord, causing the loss of the use of her arms and legs, he said. After spending time in hospitals and at the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine in New York City, Ms. Juliano returned home and resumed management of the household, but was unsure about getting out of the house, he said.
Ms. Juliano eventually overcame her fears and allowed her husband to take her out for a short birthday drive, which turned into a tour of southern Connecticut and lunch out at a restaurant. She was encouraged by the trip and welcomed getting out of the house more and more, he said, until finally she began to think about her next step in life: a career helping the elderly, something her husband encouraged her to do.
In 1985, she enrolled in St. Joseph's College in Patchogue, where the state's office of vocational rehabilitation used federal funds to enable severely handicapped people to find a way back into society.
When Ms. Juliano first talked with Ms. Hernly she told her that no one would hire her because of her condition as a quadriplegic and she wanted to feel useful and make a difference in others' lives.
Most of all, Ms. Juliano didn't want to feel her life was over, Ms. Hernly said.
"I liked her from the beginning," she added.
The job, however, meant Ms. Juliano would not be eligible for a weekly payment of $370 Medicare used for home care and nursing visits because she would not be considered "homebound" anymore, according to her family.
But Ms. Juliano was determined not to give up and eventually hired a lawyer. She won her case, establishing the precedent that Medicare would make determinations on a case-by-case basis, Mr. Juliano said.
"She won the right to volunteer," Mr. Juliano said. "Isn't that something?"
Mr. Juliano said his wife volunteered at the Middle Island Adult Day Care Center up until just last year.
"She loved it," he said.
Ms. Juliano was born Anna Lillian LoCosto to Sicilian immigrants in Flushing, Queens, in 1921. She trained as a commercial secretary and took a job with the dean of counselors in the department of biology at New York University, where she also took some art classes. There she met Vincent, who was taking classes on the GI Bill, in 1948, and the couple married in 1953.
In addition to her husband, Ms. Juliano is survived by her sons, John, of Georgia, Vincent and Christopher, both of Sound Beach, and Kenneth, of Colorado, and her daughter, Linda Juliano-Jack of Buffalo.
Recalling his wife, Mr. Juliano said he was speechless.
"I just fell in love with her," he said.
"I feel she was a very special woman," Ms. Hernly said. "I feel she was very brave and she was very intelligent and she had a great attitude."
The family will receive visitors from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight, Friday, May 1, and from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 Saturday at O.B. Davis Funeral Home in Miller Place. A funeral Mass, open to the public, will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 4, at St. Anthony of Padua R.C. Church in Rocky Point on Monday, prior to interment at Calverton National Cemetery.
peggy@northshoresun.com
The North Shore Sun is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. The North Shore Sun does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not The North Shore Sun. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Service and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.
1 comments found
Lillian Juliano : 5/3/2009
I am a sister-in-law to Linda, Mrs. Juliano's daughter. The first time I met Lillian, many Xmas' ago, we were gathered at Linda's house in Buffalo for the festivities. After speaking with her for less than an hour, I forgot she was in a wheel chair or paralyzed. That was the farthest thing from her mind and we discussed family, current events and many other topics. That night after returning home I realized i had met a very amazing women who also had an amazing husband. Lillian was a strong and brave woman, the closest person to a hero that I had ever met. Through the years I would hear of the trips that the couple took and saw them on certain holidays in Buffalo. They did'nt just stay home and accept that they couldn't do certain things. They just figured out a way and did it. I think of her strength often as it acts as a reminder to me all that is possible and to never give up. The world has lost a stong and classy lady. God Speed, Lillian.
