{"id":9626,"date":"2023-08-14T17:18:54","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T00:18:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?page_id=9626"},"modified":"2024-12-18T14:21:30","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T22:21:30","slug":"resilience","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/about-samaritan\/together\/resilience\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Resilience Together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

Building Resilience Together – Anthony's Story<\/h1>\n\t\t\t
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\u201cThey told me that I\u2019d escaped death twice at that point
  … So I made changes.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Anthony Pollard<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Lebanon Resident Sets Goals & Perseveres <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Anthony Pollard, of Lebanon, has been through a lot in his 35 years, and he enjoys where he is now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has several pet chickens, all with their own names, and he loves growing their food in his garden. He also enjoys making pickles out of the cucumbers he grows as well as doing yard work for people in Lebanon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChickens are really smart,\u201d Pollard said. \u201cPeople don\u2019t think they are, but they have good memories. They remember sounds and they know their names. And they\u2019re the only pet that can give you breakfast.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also loves weightlifting at SamFit<\/a>. Before COVID-19 forced the gym to close temporarily last spring, Pollard was making great strides in his deadlifting and squatting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Special Olympics competitor in golf and bowling, he was planning on competing in powerlifting as well.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWeightlifting is a team sport in some ways, and in other ways it\u2019s not,\u201d he said. \u201cI can listen to my coaches and do everything they say, but I can\u2019t pass the weight off to a teammate. It\u2019s all about what you put into it, but you get to see the progress you make.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pollard has put in a lot of hard work to get to this point, due to a neurological condition he has had throughout his life. As a child, he had a large head and battled a lot of headaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI also had problems with my gait, but that happened after I had a knee injury, so they chalked my gait problems up to that injury,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Pollard was 13, his doctor misdiagnosed him with essential tremors. That sent Pollard into a downward spiral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy doctor told me that most people don\u2019t get diagnosed with essential tremors until their 80s, and they don\u2019t usually live long after that,\u201d Pollard said. \u201cThey said I probably only had until I was 18. I decided that if I only had five years to live, why not do everything I\u2019m not supposed to do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWeightlifting is all about what you put into it, but you get to see the progress you make.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Anthony Pollard<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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So Pollard got into drugs and other unhealthy behaviors. That continued into his 20s, even after he was correctly diagnosed with hydrocephalus, which is a fluid buildup in the cavities of the brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI finally got my diagnosis because I had lost the ability to walk, and I had terrible shakes in all my extremities,\u201d he remembered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since that diagnosis, Pollard has undergone multiple procedures to drain the fluid from his brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter my third surgery, I was still addicted to drugs, and I skipped my six-month follow-up,\u201d he said. \u201cAbout a year later, I kept collapsing, so they put a shunt (drain tube) in my brain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These surgeries took place at Oregon Health & Science University. Following the shunt insertion, Pollard said his doctors had a frank conversation about his choices.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThey told me that I\u2019d escaped death twice at that point, and did I really want to live?\u201d Pollard remembered. \u201cSo I made changes at that point. I started treatment at Community Outreach (in Corvallis) and I\u2019ve been clean and sober since May 3, 2011.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pollard credits his faith, caretaker Lance Kropf and Pastor Ted Boatsman for helping him get clean. However, his health journey has continued, with seven more procedures to adjust the shunt in his brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery adjustment basically resets my brain,\u201d he said. \u201cI had a bad reset after my last surgery in 2019, and I still wasn\u2019t able to walk six months after the surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was at that point that Pollard started working with several trainers at SamFit in Lebanon<\/a> and Samaritan Athletic Medicine<\/a> (the SAM) in Corvallis. He has also received care from Samaritan physicians Rick Wopat, MD, and David Simmons, DO<\/a>; as well as physical, occupational and speech therapy services from Samaritan\u2019s therapists in Lebanon.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Pollard has loved working out at SamFit so much that the 15-minute walk to and from the gym doesn\u2019t bother him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThrough all of their work with me, I\u2019m walking again,\u201d he said. \u201cI was doing great with my weightlifting before everything shut down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His plans and progress were set back when SamFit was forced to close for a few months last spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it hasn\u2019t dampened his spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pollard figures his deadweight max has dropped, but he kept up with a lot of his treatment virtually. He also continued to do gardening work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s next for Pollard? He returned to SamFit in May when the facilities reopened, excited to pick up where he left off with his weight training. While Special Olympics hasn\u2019t been rescheduled, he continues training for future weightlifting competitions. In the meantime, Anthony\u2019s chickens are content and he\u2019s making good use of all the cucumbers in his garden.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Collaboration Is Key at The SAM<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Orthopedic surgeons, sports medicine physicians, physician assistants and physical therapists make up the team at Samaritan Athletic Medicine in Corvallis. Their collaborative approach helps ensure that each patient receives the best possible care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Learn More About The SAM<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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SamFit \u2013 Your Portal to Wellness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At Samaritan\u2019s four SamFit<\/a> locations you will find the latest exercise equipment, classes to meet every fitness level and coaches and trainers who are ready to help you achieve your goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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