George Krams has not let being born with cerebral palsy, deafness and blindness define him.
Now a resident at Rumbalara House, one of Alino Living’s residential aged care homes at Umina Beach, Krams, 79, recently took part in a new activity at the residence, a This Is Your Life presentation.
These presentations offer residents an opportunity to share their life stories and build more connections within the community.
Krams was among the first presentations, revealing an incredible life where he has overcome many challenges to achieve great things.
He was born on May 4, 1944, at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Paddington and his mother, who had been told her baby had died in the womb when she was seven months pregnant, was determined to give him a chance at life.
She refused to give up on him, and he defied the odds to survive.
Soon after he was born, his religious parents saved up enough money to take him to Lourdes, a religious site in France, hoping for a miracle cure for his blindness.
While no miracle happened there, Krams’ mother did not give up and she and other family members brought back containers filled with the sacred Lourdes water for him to drink.
Six months later, the doctors declared that he could see.
The doctors asked his mother what she had done, but she never revealed to them the miraculous cure she believed came from Lourdes and the doctors could not offer any medical explanation for Krams’ sight returning.
At the age of three, he attended the Spastic Centre at Mosman, where he was the first deaf child to enrol, transferring a few years later to St Gabriel’s School for the Deaf at Castle Hill, where he thrived.
In his 20s, Krams decided to follow his childhood dream of becoming a priest, but was denied entry on several occasions, most likely due to the difficulty of meeting the physical requirements of the priesthood.
He did not give up on his dream of serving God and worked in the Catholic Church in other capacities such as volunteering with the Catholic Deaf Association as treasurer for 12 years and vice president for two years.
He was also employed as a public servant in the police department for 23 years – a job that he loved.
On his retirement, he received a presentation from the then NSW Police Commissioner.
In 1982, Krams set a Guinness World Record for maintaining sign language at or above 45 words per minute for 35 hours and five minutes.
This was a huge achievement, and his record has never been broken.
Reg South and Krams were lifelong friends who met in the 1940s when they lived on the same street at Randwick.
South recalled the first time he saw Krams: “He was sitting in his front garden, on the grass, with calipers on his legs.
“I didn’t know what calipers were, so I said hello to him, and his aunty Annie explained them to me in the best way she could, in a way that a child could understand.
“George and I became mates very quickly.
“My sisters and I would see a lot of George and George soon got to know the other kids in Norton Street.
“We kids had little or no problem communicating with George, as we all spoke ‘kid language’ and that was all we needed.”
Decades later, in 1973, South and his wife asked George to be the godfather of their second daughter, Deanne.
“We knew George was a good Christian, with a strong religious upbringing,” South said.
“We were so pleased when George readily accepted and said he would be happy to be Deanne’s godfather.”
Deanne, along with her two sisters, Cassandra and Trisha, all learned sign language at TAFE so they could better communicate with Krams, and he remained close to the family, even walking Deanne down the aisle on her wedding day.
“I have always been enormously proud to have you as my friend,” South said in paying tribute to Krams.
“I am glad that we are still in touch after 74 years of friendship.
“You have had many challenges over the years, and you have shown strength in overcoming a lot of these issues.
“You have shown us all you have the stuff that great men are made of.
“You are a leader in your own right.
“You are special to all who know you.”
Source:
Alino Living