Four months ago Dave Zahn, our Tri-Swim coach, was riding his bicycle when hit by a car. He spent four days in the hospital and 2 months in a full body brace recovering from a broken back and more. "The first 6-8 weeks were really bad," Dave said. "I couldn't even put on my own socks and shoes." One of the things that kept Dave going was setting goals for his recovery. He was determined to be back on the pool deck coaching for the August flip-turn clinic. "I couldn't do a flip turn, but I was here coaching!" he said.
It was nearly 12 weeks after the accident that Dave was able to get back in the pool. His first swim lasted 10 minutes. The next time he was able to swim 20 minutes. He's back up to hour long swim workouts and his next goal is to start jogging again, even if it starts with a 5 minute run. "The Y has been a great place for my recovery," Dave said. "In the beginning all I could do was swim. Then I started going upstairs and doing non-weight bearing exercises." Dave encourages anyone going through recovery to give themselves the time and tools they need to get stronger. "Every day I'm a little better," he said.