Dec 24, 2023 By Mark Hofmann 4 min read

When Greg Herman had a stroke in March 2022, his doctors said he would never move the right side of his body again, nor would he be able to comprehend what was going on around him.

Herman’s son Bryce said the prognosis was “absolute.”

Turns out the doctors were absolutely wrong.

Twenty-one months after his stroke, the 60-year-old has two triathlons under his belt. And while he still has difficulty speaking, that didn’t stop Greg from communicating his fitness goals to Phillip Thomas, a lifeguard and personal trainer at the YMCA in Uniontown.

The men first met while Thomas was lifeguarding and Greg was in the pool.

“I saw him swimming and anytime I have people coming into the pool, I like to know of any conditions they have, so I talk to them or ask someone,” Thomas said.

He learned Greg had a stroke and couldn’t speak, and “I just said ‘hi’ to him every day. I knew he couldn’t talk, and he’d try to communicate the best he could.”

That was around August 2022, after Greg quickly progressed through acute in-patient rehabilitation and physical therapy, and moved from his home in New Jersey to Connellsville so he could be with family.

“He was doing pretty well physically,” Bryce said. “He always enjoyed swimming, but the pool at his mom’s house wasn’t super big, so he wanted to go to the YMCA in Uniontown to swim.”

Greg, a first responder during the 9/11 terror attacks, also took part in pickleball, lifted weights and walked at the facility.

Determined to continue his recovery, Greg approached Thomas one day. He pointed at himself and pointed at Thomas, who learned Greg signed up to work with the then-newly-certified personal trainer.

Thomas worked up a plan for Greg to help with swimming and weight lifting, making modifications to the plan to accommodate the effects of the stroke.

Progress came quickly, and Thomas asked if he’d like to take part in the Y’s triathlon, a race that includes biking, swimming and running, this past May. Since the Y’s race was indoors, participants were timed as they swam in the pool, rode a stationary bike and ran on a treadmill.

Thomas competed alongside him.

“I told him to be careful, and he told me he wanted to kick (butt),” Thomas said. “He did really well on the bike, and he beat me at swimming.”

Throughout their training, Thomas told Greg about the other triathlons he’s taken part in.

When Greg told him he’d signed up for one in Orlando, “I was like, ‘What are you talking about, dude?'” Thomas said. “I was kind of nervous. I got him all hyped up and now he’s going down to Florida.”

But if Greg’s recovery from the stroke was evidence of nothing else, it was of a man determined to overcome the obstacles in front of him. The men worked out a plan, and last month, Greg traveled to Florida where he competed, swimming 400 meters in a river, biking 12 miles, and running 3.1 miles.

Bryce said his dad finished in the middle of the pack out of 130 triathletes. The placing might’ve been higher had Greg not cut his hand on a rock after the swim, necessitating he take time for it to be bandaged.

“I was glad that everything worked out, and he came back in one piece,” Thomas said.

Greg shook his head “no” when asked if he’d ever taken part in a triathlon before the two he competed in this year, and used gestures to express that he most enjoys the swimming and bicycling aspects of the race, but not so much the running.

Bryce said his father continues to push himself, treating his continued recovery like a full-time job. It’s standard for him to get there five or six days a week, spending three or four hours training during each visit.

It’s progress Greg is proud of, and his son is thankful for.

“The team at the YMCA has been great, and everyone I met at the YMCA has been just tremendous as well,” Bryce said.