Polak Interview

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Surprised that this had not been posted on the board as yet. Here is Polaks first interview since being hit by the tram, with thanks to the HUN: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24656264-661,00.html
:

GRAHAM Polak has told how he miraculously survived being hit by a tram and thrown several metres, saying a split second may have saved his life.
Breaking a five-month silence, Polak, 24, revealed he was struck by the mirror and not the full force of the tram when he was crossing Dandenong Rd in Armadale on June 28.
Polak and girlfriend Alyce Oksuz believe a split-second hesitation not only saved his life, but also limited the head trauma he suffered.
"I am the luckiest man alive. If I had been hit front-on, it might have ended up much worse than it was," Polak said during the week.
"I could have ended up underneath the tram."
Ms Oksuz said: "It could have been so much worse; he could have been dead. For it to have hit him and have him flip and land on the other side of the track on the grass for a soft landing is just a miracle.
"Graham said later, 'How could this have happened?' Now he puts it into perspective. He realises he was lucky, not unlucky."
Polak agreed to speak about the accident for the first time.
In an interview authorised by the Richmond Football Club, he revealed:
HIS father's premature death from a heart attack inspired his recovery.
HE still suffers some short-term memory loss and difficulties with his balance, which he hopes to overcome.
THE swelling on his brain has almost subsided.
THE support of his girlfriend, their families, the club and the medical teams from The Alfred and Epworth hospitals was crucial.
HE has received more than 2000 emails, cards and letters of support from the public.
Polak has returned to training with the Tigers and the club is monitoring his progress, mindful he is still a long way off a full recovery.
While Polak's long-term aim is to run out on the MCG in what would be an emotional return to the game he loves, he won't put his health at risk.
"I'm really enjoying being back with the boys at the club. It's given me a lift," he said.
"I'd love to play again, but it's not the be-all and end-all. The main thing is I am alive."
It was very different 4 1/2 months ago when Polak's world changed in the blink of an eye. He had played on the Saturday in a game to mark the club's 100th birthday.

The Tigers lost and, in a bizarre twist, Polak was knocked out and suffered a broken rib in a collision with Carlton's Brendan Fevola.
Incredibly, after the tram accident about eight hours later, the only broken bone his many X-rays revealed was the cracked rib.
Polak had attended a post-game centenary celebration, but did not have a drink.
Ms Oksuz was at Eve nightclub in Southbank and he was going to meet her about 11pm.
But he reached only as far as across the road from his home before being hit by the tram.
"I don't remember anything of the accident," he said.
"I was just walking across the road and the tram tracks to a taxi waiting on the other side. Jordan McMahon was waiting in the taxi with his girlfriend and I was going across with Cleve Hughes.
"I have been told I saw the first tram, but didn't realise there was another one coming the other way. Cleve pulled out of the way just in time. It didn't get him, but it got me."
In little more than an hour, Polak was in hospital, Ms Oksuz had rushed to his bedside and their families were ready to fly from Perth.
Ms Oksuz barely left Polak's side at The Alfred and later the Epworth Hospital.
"I just wanted the doctors to tell me he was going to be OK, but they couldn't," she recalled. "The first night was the hardest. We didn't really know what was happening.
"At that stage we didn't know if he was going to live."
Polak was diagnosed with a severe head injury, with the long-term implications unclear.

He was put in an induced coma and doctors were cautiously optimistic, rather than certain, he would make a full recovery.
When it became clear that Polak would survive, Ms Oksuz's outlook changed.
"At the start I just wanted him to live," she said.
"Then, once we found out he was going to live, I wanted to have him normal again.
"Everyone else was really happy he was alive, but I was like 'that's my boyfriend and I need him to be a boyfriend'."
The bond between the pair has been strong since they met more than five years ago in WA. But it has strengthened since the accident.

Polak says he wouldn't have emerged from the trauma without Ms Oksuz and the support they received.
"I think when something is almost taken away from you, you realise how much it means to you," Ms Oksuz said.
"When things were touch and go in the first few hours, you sit there and think 'What if he isn't going to come through this?' And you realise, 'Oh my God, I cannot live without him'."
The couple say they can never repay the people who helped them through the initial period, his month-long stay in the two hospitals and his ongoing rehabilitation.
Polak said the care he received from the medical staff at The Alfred - a time he does not recall - and the Epworth was "unbelievable".
"The care we got from the doctors, nurses, physios and Richmond's doctor, Greg Hickey, was great," he said.
Not only did the club fly their families to Melbourne and put them up in units , they ensured a steady stream of visitors, mainly teammates, to keep up Polak's spirits.
"I can't thank the club enough. They made sure we didn't have to worry about anything," he said.
'MY teammates really kept me going. It was boring at the hospital and the boys coming in all the time was great for me. That's what drove me and still drives me."
Polak made a point of praising coach Terry Wallace, former football manager Greg Miller, Kane Johnson and the Richmond board and staff for their care and support.
Polak said he could barely believe the 2000-plus messages he had from fans.
He admitted to frustration at his short-term memory.
"The balance and the memory are the most frustrating things at the moment," he said.
"If I put my phone or wallet somewhere and it is not in the place where it should be, then I have to get Alyce to help me.
"It is bloody frustrating, but I think it is improving slowly.
"I still get tired late in the day. The balance issue doesn't seem to be getting much better, but the doctors think it will continue to improve over time."
Polak is back doing a modified training program.
"They are not pushing me too hard," he said.
"I am doing a lot of the skills sessions. I've only done one bad one. I was dropping marks and just getting tired easy. The fitness coach (Matt Hornsby) saw that and pulled me out of the next drill.
"Sometimes I just feel more lightheaded, so I have to just chill out a bit until I'm right."
He knows there will be focus on whether he plays in 2009.
"I wouldn't put my hand up until I am ready to play," he said.

"I wouldn't want anyone to have their spot sacrificed because I shouldn't be there.
"It is the last year of my contract, so I figure I have to play or I won't be given another one. If it happens, and I play, that's great. If it doesn't, I will be disappointed, but my health is the main thing."
Ms Oksuz added: "He loves his football, so obviously I would love him to play again. But I don't know if I will able to watch. I will be screaming at everyone not to touch him.
"I think before the accident if he had gone out with an injury, he would have been devastated. But he now realises there is an outside world to the little footy bubble they are in."

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24656264-661,00.html

 

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There is also a seperate article in which TW explains why the club didn't ask for special consideration while Graham recovered from the injury. Again thanks to the HUN, http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,24657130-19742,00.html

RICHMOND never considered asking the AFL for a special concession over Graham Polak's tram accident, because the club wanted to give him something to strive for.
Coach Terry Wallace said the Tigers could have sought assistance in a manner similar to Essendon rookie listing of Adam Ramanauskas in 2006 after his second battle with cancer.
But Wallace did not think it was in Polak's best interests and wanted to give him the incentive to play again, if doctors allow him to return.
"One of the things we wanted to do first up was to leave Graham on the list," Wallace said this week. "We could have tried to get compensation from the AFL. But we thought from Graham's point of view that we wanted to keep the door open and the light shining there.
"At the end of the day, he knows his position is there and he has something to strive for."

Wallace said Polak, who suffered a severe head injury after being hit by a tram in June, had come a long way in his recovery, but it remained unclear whether he would play again.
"Clearly it is going to be a long process, but the pleasing factor is that we are seeing improvement on a regular basis," he said.
"What line of improvement that is, we will have to wait and see. If he is living his life as a happy, healthy 70-year-old, that's the most important thing. The rest will look after itself."
Wallace said it was a very different story when he visited Polak in the Alfred Hospital less than 48 hours after the accident.
"Graham was basically in the fetal position and I didn't think there was going to be quality of life at that stage," he said.
Less than five months on, Polak is back at training, doing a modified program under the eyes of Richmond's fitness and medical staff. He is keen to play AFL football again.
He still has short-term memory loss and has a few balance issues, but he has been told to expect further improvement over the next year.
Wallace said the fact Polak was back training and mixing with his teammates had been a key part of his recovery.
"The whole thing has always been about the welfare of Graham as a bloke," he said.
"I think he has enjoyed being around the club again. Physically, he is doing up to the limits but not over the limits. We have got the right people to guide him as far as training goes. Medically, we have got the people on board.
"He is always around his mates, so that's good, too.
"I think from a footy aspect we are getting him to do some work now. The fact he is doing those things on a daily basis helps. All those things packaged together makes the club a good place for Graham to be."
Wallace said he did not know what sort of impact having Polak back would have on the playing group, but he could see only positives.
"I do know it will be a daily reminder of what football, and life, can present," he said.
"If any person was feeling a bit sorry for themselves they would only have to have a look at him running on the treadmill to realise what the last few months have presented for him.
"Players sometimes lead a sheltered life, so that adds a bit of a reality check for us all."

 

[HBK619]

Fantastic interview with him.

Really interesting to read how it happened and that a few twists of fate saved his life.

Also sounds like he very well could play footy again, not that it matters but it would be absolutely huge if he made it back out onto the 'G again.

 

[sante]

Could you imagine his return match, if it was to happen.

Good to see he is in high spirits.

 

[getthefooty]

Very good, informative interview. He knows exactly where he is at and what is required to get back. Good to see he also has an increased perspective on things outside of footy.

Would this be better placed in the Tiger Sanctuary? I've been looking around and other forums use that board to collect articles and the like on different players, getting as much about them as possible in the thread dedicated to the player. I quite like the sound of that.

 

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Very good, informative interview. He knows exactly where he is at and what is required to get back. Good to see he also has an increased perspective on things outside of footy.

Would this be better placed in the Tiger Sanctuary? I've been looking around and other forums use that board to collect articles and the like on different players, getting as much about them as possible in the thread dedicated to the player. I quite like the sound of that.

Think it should be on the main board at present as I believe it would get lost on the Sanctuary. Might move it across later in the week once everyone has had a chance of viewing the thread.

 

[peejay]

From the age:

Teammates drive Polak's comeback
Emma Quayle | November 16, 2008

A SIMPLE desire to be back among his teammates has driven Richmond defender Graham Polak, who was struck by a tram five months ago, through much of his recovery from brain injuries.

Polak, who trained with his teammates for the first time this week, could barely wait for them to start their pre-season.

"I've actually been back while the boys were on their end-of-season break. I was in here easing myself into it," Polak said during the week.

"So I've been doing it for a while, been seeing all the boys, and they've been fantastic towards me. It was just good to get out there and having a train, and just be a part of it again.

"That was the thing that I think drove me the most, with all the boys coming in to see me at the hospital. The thing that I wanted most was to be back at the club, to be part of it again," he told the Richmond website.

"Not being able to drive or to go do anything, to be back at the club with everyone, to be back with my mates, was the main thing I was looking forward to."

Richmond has set down a carefully managed media schedule for Polak, who is still suffering some short-term memory loss. The Sunday Herald Sun conducted an interview with Polak several months ago but agreed to hold it after the club complained it had obtained the interview without permission and that the interview was potentially detrimental to his health.

While the likelihood of Polak's comeback remains uncertain — he is training only lightly and tires quickly — he said he was thankful for the club's determination to look after his family and friends during their trips over from his home city of Perth, and grateful, simply, that he had survived.

Polak was placed in an induced coma after he was hit by a tram while walking across Dandenong Road on a Saturday night late in June. He spent a week in intensive care before beginning his rehabilitation.

"It's unbelievable. The stories I've heard are that not many people have survived getting hit by a tram, so to walk away with nothing physically wrong with me — no limbs broken or lost, just to be able to walk … it could have gone the other way and I fell on the track and the tram could have run over me," Polak said. "Luckily I fell onto the grass. I was told the mirror was the thing that hit me, so I nearly got across. I came off better than the tram — Tiger-tough, don't muck around with me.

"It's not going to happen again, I know that, I'm aware of them now. It might be a bit early for a 'Beware of Trams' ad campaign, but I'll be there first in line for that job, I think."


I have no doubt the bolded bit came from what we gave him. he mentioned as much when he read it when we handed it over.

 

[one eyedtiger]

Great interview good to hear he's doing well. How great would it be if he came back and played, that would be a great day for him and everyone involved with the club.

 

[deliberate!!]

I hope Polak makes a full recovery, but the articles never mentioned the fact that no-one in Melbourne, including drunks, druggies or even the mentally imbalanced manage to run in front of trams, even ones right near their home.

Once Polak is 100%, let's check him to see if he ever was 100%!!

 

[one eyedtiger]

http://www.richmondfc.com.au/tabid/6301/Default.aspx?newsid=69843

Part 2 here.

 

[mickeyjuice]

Part 3: http://www.richmondfc.com.au/tabid/6301/Default.aspx?newsid=69960

 

[JSFish]

I hope Polak makes a full recovery, but the articles never mentioned the fact that no-one in Melbourne, including drunks, druggies or even the mentally imbalanced manage to run in front of trams, even ones right near their home.

Once Polak is 100%, let's check him to see if he ever was 100%!!

Are you serious?