Nana’s column, Watching Miracles Every Day, is an opportunity to get to know one instructor’s class more intimately. Please keep checking back to the AEA website to learn all about Nana’s students and their challenges and triumphs.
Nana Whalen was honored with AEA's Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2008 International Aquatic Fitness Conference in Orlando, Florida.
In the spring of 2002 I was running as fast as I could in Sun City's annual Triathlon. We call it the Sun City Challenge. Residents can run, walk, bike and / or swim. One can do any, or all, of the races. Suddenly, someone passed by me in a flash. Later that day, I learned that the gentleman's name was Ed Jerger. He was not even running. He was race walking. He went on to the 2003 National Senior Olympics in Norfolk, Virginia and won two 5th place ribbons. After he returned home his doctor had some tough news "No more race walking for those stress fractured legs."
Ever on the alert for new swimmers for our Master's Team, I told Ed that he should start swimming. When your body is immersed in water, all your joints are protected by hydrostatic pressure. "It is the ideal sport to be kind to your body," I told him. And so at the age of 81, Ed joined the Low Country Masters Swim Team. After competing in several annual South Carolina Senior Sports Classics, he went on to the 2005 National Senior Olympics in Louisville, Kentucky, and in six events placed 5th, 6th, 2 – 7ths, and an 8th. Ed also competes in State and National Master’s swimming competition, and presently holds numerous South Carolina State Masters swimming records.
This past June, just five months ago, the tragedy occurred at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. He and his lovely wife, Bette, had travelled to Chicago for Bette’s grandson’s high school graduation. Their flight back to Savannah was doomed. First the flight was delayed three times, and then it was cancelled and rebooked for the next day. Very early the next morning as they arrived at the airport, Ed fell and broke his hip.
The national statistics for a person over the age of 85 for a broken hip repair are grim--very grim. My heart sank when Ed called from the hospital in Chicago.
Now this becomes a tale of dedication, courage, perseverance, and discipline. The hip surgery was long, extensive and dangerous because Ed takes Coumadin, a severe blood thinner, and excessive bleeding had to be controlled. The Coumadin was prescribed to prevent blood clots in stents in two of his heart arteries. At the hospital, he was told he would require a month of hospitalization, six weeks of physical therapy, and six months in a nursing home.
In reality, Ed, accompanied by Bette’s son, flew home after one week. He had three weeks of home care, visited by a Nurse and Therapist, with his vital signs continually telemetered to the Hilton Head Hospital. Home care was followed with a month of outpatient physical therapy. During this time he appeared at my Physically Challenged Water Walking Class. The class is large so I put Ed in a lane all be himself for his safety.
Literally, one step at a time Ed grew stronger. First, he came to class with a walker, followed by a walker with wheels. One day the walker was gone and he had a cane. Next, he arrived for class walking independently. He never missed class.
One of his biggest goals was to return to swim practice. After attending water walking class for about three weeks, Ed started swimming while still attending the water walking class. He began at ground zero. He only swam 100 yards. He added 100 yards at a time. He had built up his yardage per practice to 1200 yards when a mixture of medications caused internal bleeding. This brought him right back to ground zero after missing practice during his recovery.
Slowly, slowly he began swimming again. On November 2, Ed swam in the Beaufort County Senior Games. He won three gold medals in his age group. This was almost 5 months to the day after he broke his hip.
He water walks in my class twice a week and on Saturday on his own. He swims three times a week with our coach, Joe Bongiorno, slowly building his distance per day. Today, December 1, he swam 1600 yards.
I asked Ed what role exercise had played in his recovery and he said, "Exercise has kept me alive for 60 years. It is a necessity every day of my life." Ed has lived with Type 2 Diabetes for 52 years. He has never taken a shot of insulin. He is committed to proper diet and exercise. He does take oral medication to help control the diabetes, blood pressure, and atria heart fibrillation. The water has played a key role. As a swimmer, his body was strong and healthy when the fall occurred. The safe environment of the water has allowed the body to regain strength and stamina.
Ed never had time for a nursing home. Woodworking has always been his hobby. Now he teaches project classes, and picture frame making at the wood shop. Last May, he qualified for participation in the National Senior Olympics. His goal is to make the trip to Stanford University near San Francisco next August and swim 6 events. Bette will be poolside cheering all the way!
My own personal goal is to keep the water walking challenging for Ed and to swim a relay with him in a Masters swim meet in Myrtle Beach next February
Ed's overall assessment of his rehabilitation therapy is that water is an ideal medium for recovery from injuries, surgery, and overall fitness. Buoyancy forces decrease the gravitational forces in the water, resulting in freer movement of legs and arms with less pain. Flexibility of movement of body components is improved. Impaired movements of weakened body parts are assisted by buoyant forces to relieve the pain when exercised. The range of motion of body parts is also facilitated with less pain when joints are pushed for greater motion. Arms and legs can be strengthened in the water, because movement is opposed by uniform hydrostatic pressure. Overall balance is enhanced by constant movement against gentle resistance. The main value of water as a therapeutic medium is that it is completely safe. I often tell my classes, “The water is magic.”
Ed’s remarkable life has been filled with new horizons. He was a Professor at the University of Notre Dame for 43 years, rising to Head of the Mechanical Engineering Department, Associate Dean of the College of Engineering, and Special Assistant Provost of the University. He set up, and supervised, Notre Dame foreign studies programs in London, England, and Rome, Italy. As a consultant to the Universidad Madre y Maestra in Santiago, Dominican Republic, he designed and implemented the first engineering degree program in that country. As a leader in the academic community he served on numerous study committees, the Accreditation Board for Engineering Colleges, and National President of Pi Tau Sigma National Mechanical Engineering Honor Society. Ed, a licensed professional engineer, practiced private consulting for more than 50 years to Industry, States and Federal Government, Foundations, and Academic Institutions. An illustrious life filled with accolades. During World War II, Ed served in the Air Corp. He retired in 1989.