Nothing stops an Air Force mom

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Marcy Copeland
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  October is recognized as National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and it's designed to raise awareness about disability employment issues and the contributions made by employees with disabilities.

For Master Sgt. Douglas Caldwell, 308th Fighter Squadron independent duty medical technician, this month serves as a reminder of the challenges and triumphs of his mother, Sheri Caldwell.

In August of 1960, at the age of 6, Sheri had received the live polio vaccination along with 600 other people in Los Angeles.

Almost immediately, Sheri fell terribly ill and awoke in a tank respirator, also known as the iron lung, with a tracheotomy. Polio can cause paralysis throughout the body including the chest muscles, making breathing impossible. Sheri had lost all feeling from her neck down.

"I remember having the flu and needing my mother's help to the restroom," Sheri said. "I was so weak that my entire body felt like a puppet on strings and then someone just let go of the strings. That's when I was rushed to the emergency room. When I woke up, I had a a plastic tube in my throat and was in the iron lung."

Sheri recovered use of her entire body through extensive rehabilitation except for her arms from the shoulder down. Sheri spent time with a woman who had been born with no arms. She taught Sheri how to use her feet to eat. With the use of special hooks she was able to cook, clean and dress herself.

As Sheri grew up, using her feet to accomplish normal everyday tasks became the norm for her. She even began painting with her feet.

"I have no real memory before polio," Sheri said. "For me, the loss of use of my arms became my life. This has been my life, and that is just the way it is. Sometimes, I think it was meant to happen."

Sheri married and moved to Las Vegas with her husband. She approached her husband about getting a driver's license. He laughed it off, which only fueled Sheri to want it more.

Sheri was the first person to receive a driver's license using her feet in the state of Nevada. After spending 62 hours gaining experience behind the wheel, she took her driving test. Even under pressure, not from the test, but from the three television networks following her during the entire test, she passed, gained more independence and accomplished something that people laughed at her for.

Shortly after receiving her license, Sheri left her husband and moved to California with her son and daughter. Having a disability and being a single mom didn't present a challenge. Sheri attended the University of Santa Cruz, paid for by Norton Buffalo from the Steve Miller Band. Seeing the talent Sheri had with painting, he flew her back and forth every weekend to attend the university.

"She didn't give up," Douglas said. "She didn't have the ability to give up. She had to raise my sister and me, so she had to keep pushing through and trying, which set the right example for us growing up. Her talent was painting, mine became music and she was my inspiration for it."

Sheri made a name for herself in California with her paintings, even appearing on the Jerry Lewis telethon where she painted a portrait of Lucille Ball's daughter, Lucie Arnaz, on live television.

Sheri has since moved to Arizona with her son and daughter-in-law, who is also her home-care nurse. She continues to paint and hopes that through her paintings, people can be inspired and see past their personal limitations.

"No matter what you are faced with, you can get through it if you just try," Sheri said. "You have to have that positive attitude and you have to try. Even if you fail, at least you can say you tried."