Love, support for ailing coach
Tennis friends set fund-raiser
HOLLISTON -- It began with a stiff neck a few days before Christmas.
Jerry Higgins thought it was no more than an aggravation, the sort of everyday nuisance that bothers any 59-year-old, especially one who makes his living teaching tennis and enjoys the rush of physical exertion.
Headaches and fevers followed. At first doctors thought Higgins had a pinched nerve and maybe an infection.
He got worse. A few days after Christmas, in the middle of the night, Higgins had his wife, Jon, drive him to the local emergency ward.
Higgins was put in a wheelchair because he was so weak. An hour into the visit he lost feeling in his legs. He was rushed to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, where doctors determined that he had developed an abscess on his spinal column.
"No one knows how Jerry got it for sure," said his wife.
Higgins needed emergency surgery. Doctors removed the abscess, but the damage was done. His spinal cord was injured. It meant he would lose some use of his upper extremities and have no feeling or movement below the waist.
Higgins will probably use a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
He and his wife are temporarily living with one of their daughters, Justine Thompson, in Winchester. Their home in Holliston is on the market. They need to move to a handicapped-accessible home near one of their three daughters.
Higgins has a special bond with his daughters. He was their tennis coach and mentor. They were good students, going on to play No. 1 singles for their college teams, Justine at James Madison University, Joy at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and Jillian at Iona University.
All three have families now and want to open their homes to their parents.
Higgins and his wife are not yet sure where they will settle. "Our world has been turned upside down," said his wife. "We are still trying to figure that out."
Jerry and Jon Higgins were high school sweethearts and have been married for 38 years.
She works for the Home for Little Wanderers in Boston. "They've been great about this, giving me the time off I need," she said.
Besides coping with the physical and emotional trauma, the Higgins family faces financial hardship. The medical equipment, wheelchair ramps, handicapped van, and home healthcare that Higgins will need will not be fully covered by insurance.
News of Higgins' situation spread quickly through the local tennis community, and people have responded with open hearts.
Justin Lundberg, who operates tennis facilities in Westborough and Shrewsbury, where Higgins has taught for the last 30 years, and the local unit of the US Tennis Association have pitched in to help raise money.
One of the hardest-working groups has been the Dorothy Bruno Hills tennis team coached by Higgins at the Mass. Health & Fitness club in Shrewsbury.
"Jerry took over as the coach of our DBH team about four years ago when we were the 'Bad News Bears' of the league," said Marlborough resident Ellen Dorian, one of nine women on the squad. "We were in the third division and about to drop down. We were awful and only getting worse. But he took over our team and stayed with us. Now we are in second place in the second division, and we wouldn't be there without him."
"He is more than just a great teacher, he is a great human being and a true friend," said Dorian, who with her teammates is organizing a fund-raiser for Higgins.
Individuals or companies interested in making a tax-deductible donation can check Dorian's website, dorianfamily.com/jerry.htm, for more information.
The benefit, "Playing for Jerry," will be held May 6 at the Westborough Tennis and Swim Club.
"We want to make it a very social occasion, and we'd like everyone involved," said Dorian. "We're hoping we can get Jerry out for the day."
Higgins said he is going to do the best he can to attend.
"I'm having good days and bad days," he admitted. "But it is wonderful to see so much support from so many.
"My goal right now is to be able to teach tennis one day a week," said Higgins. "That would be so good if I could get to the club and teach, even if it's from a wheelchair." 