Injured Tiger Polak keen to pull boots on
Sunday Herald Sun
Glenn McFarlane
November 16, 2008 12:00am
EXCLUSIVE: 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."
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