Running legend back on track
"They waved a car down, and talk about luck; out walked two doctors and they started working on me to try to get the old heart going again."
Dick Tayler
Dick Tayler is grateful for many things in the wake of the cardiac arrest that almost claimed his life four months ago.
He cannot say enough about the doctors, nurses and friends who helped save him, and have provided support during what he accepts will be a long road to recovery, the New Zealand medical system and the well-wishers who have contacted him since that fateful day.
While not yet allowed to drive, and only able to only read the newspaper or watch the TV for short periods, Tayler is thankful he can still go for walks on the iron legs that propelled him to his win in the 10,000m on the opening day of the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch 1974.
Many hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders have viewed footage of the moment when a euphoric Tayler celebrated winning the gold medal on the track at QEII Stadium.
Maybe the two doctors who happened to be driving past a van near Rotorua Airport also knew of Tayler, the running machine who farmed near the small town of Winchester in South Canterbury when he became a household name 43 years ago.
Tayler and his friends, having collected TV broadcaster Keith Quinn at the airport, were embarking on a road trip to view the unveiling of the statue of All Blacks icon Colin Meads in Te Kuiti when the drama unfolded on June 18.
Not that Tayler has any recollection of what happened, having to rely on those around him to provide the details. One moment he was chatting away. The next he wasn’t.
‘‘I took a turn - a cardiac arrest,’’ Tayler said. ‘‘So they stopped the vehicle, got me on the roadside and started working on me. They waved a car down, and talk about luck; out walked two doctors and they started working on me to try to get the old heart going again.
‘‘Then the fire brigade arrived and they gave me some shock [treatment] as well.’’
Having been rushed to Rotorua Hospital, Tayler spent 10 days in recovery before being flown by air ambulance to Christchurch to stay in Burwood Hospital.
He has no memory of his stay in Rotorua, but was later told his brain had been starved of oxygen for up to 14 minutes.
‘‘I don’t remember anything of when I was in Rotorua, nothing. I wasn’t very good at all.’’
Although Tayler had previously had stents inserted into his arteries, he said there had been no warning signs. He had been out for a walk that morning, and there had been no chest pains.
Following his stay in Burwood, he was flown to Wakari Hospital in Dunedin where he had access to specialists who worked with head injuries. ‘‘There was some brain damage so they helped me, and then I got released from hospital about a month ago. I am slowly starting to recuperate, and the good thing is I can still do some exercise.’’
Having mastered the art of learning to walk again, Taylor takes a stroll between 40 to 60 minutes a day from his home in Waikouaiti. Regular physiotherapy sessions are also part of the recovery process.
The 69 year old knows he has to be patient; he now speaks clearly and concisely, his memory is sharp and he hopes to get his licence back in six months or so. That is if he is allowed it back. He accepts that if he is a danger to himself, or others, then he is best not get behind the wheel.
‘‘A lot of people have said they are surprised how well I am doing, and I have my ‘down’ moments which I have been told is only natural.
‘‘It will take 12 to 18 months to get the old brain functioning pretty well again.’’
Being unable to attend the funeral of close friend Meads, who succumbed to cancer on August 20, was a blow. The pair had toured together on the speaking circuit, and were good mates who liked to share a beer and a yarn.
‘‘It was sad,’’ Tayler said. ‘‘He was a great New Zealander.’’