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Watch Me!
By Richard Harris
 My Tamarac Story begins the summer of 2008. Tamarac and the people of Tamarac soon became a part of my daily routine. My fitness level increased, I made new friends and re-established old relationships: It was a great place to be!
Let’s fast forward to late 2008. Consultation with my urologist made clear that I had to have prostate surgery. It was scheduled for the end of January 2009 and I began preparing for surgery. I stepped up my Tamarac workouts in order to be in the best possible physical condition going into surgery and the recovery that would follow.
Surgery was successful and after a few days in the hospital I was home for recovery and thinking ahead to when I would be 100% again and back at Tamarac. I was also anxious to get back to Dog Star Ranch where Rex, my Red Doberman, and I spent hours every week roaming the 48 acre fenced dog park.
All did not go as planned. As the days passed, I found myself in more and more pain - finally I wasn’t even able to walk! March 3, 2009 marked a significant turning point in my journey back to wellness - my family doctor ordered physical therapy.
On March 5, 2009 I started therapy with Kristin and the journey began. We hit it off immediately - she is a runner and could relate to my goal to return to physical fitness and to run in the Chris Cook 5K in July. She told me early on that I probably wasn’t going to run again - I took that as a personal challenge and told her to “watch me.”
While Kristin was working on making my legs come back, the rest of the Tamarac team was supporting the emotional part of me - encouraging me and helping to keep my spirits up.
The road back took three long, hard months. After several sessions I was able to dispense with the canes as my legs started working again - not very well, but better than before. Pretty soon, I was able to get back on the treadmill. I didn’t have the stamina to go far or fast, but at least I was able to do something.
By the beginning of May, I knew I would run the Chris Cook and Kristen, Jess, Sally, Ruth, Gretchen, Amanda and Audra started believing I would too! At the end of May, I completed physical therapy and was BACK and ready to go! I started running with the Fremont Area Runners on Saturday mornings and ran my first 5K race in years on the 4th of July in Hesperia.
I can’t say with any certainty what went wrong with my recovery, but I do know that had it not been for the skills and support of the physical therapy team and Tamarac staff and friends I wouldn’t be where I am today. My heartfelt thanks to each of you!
Note: Richard recently completed the Lansing Turkeyman Trot 5K in 24:20 (7:51/mile pace). His finish ranks him 5th during the 2009 season among runners over 70, who live in Michigan!
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