Brother John Hamman's Final Aces

Even more amazing than Hamman's card magic was Brother John's life.

This is from Kaufman's introduction to Final Aces:

When Bro. Hamman was age twenty-five he was stricken with polio. He spent many months laying in a hospital bed, almost completely paralyzed. Though he had already been interested in magic for years. it was not until he was unable to move that he began to create card tricks. The first of these was "Final Aces," which he devised completely in his mind - he was not able to move his arms at the time (he still suffers from partial paralysis in one arm). For most, busy fingers are a liability when it comes to creating magic. The mind often stops prematurely because the fingers are too eager to move. Bro. John was forced to formulate a way of thinking about card magic that put intellectual activity first. This manner of creation, of dreaming some new thing up and figuring it out completely in the mind, has stayed with Bro. Hamman. It is his way.