Diann Uustal should probably be hobbling around on a cane today, looking a wee bit older than her 63 years instead of far younger.
Not 18 months ago her feet flew out from underneath her after hitting a slick spot on the restroom floor of a hotel where she was giving a speech on end-of-life care, which she does often as a medical ethicist.
The horrific fall ripped tendons from her hip, mangled a knee, tore a rotator cuff and ripped apart a shoulder.
“They said I might never walk again, let alone swim,” she said on Wednesday afternoon after winning six medals in six events during the Senior Olympics swimming competition at McCallie School.
“But here I am. I’m very blessed.”
We would all be blessed to know more Diann Uustals. Having moved to his area a few years ago from Providence, R.I., with Tom, her husband of 42 years, she has enriched the quality of life for thousands of terminally ill patients through her lectures, videos and books, including her recent, “Caring for Yourself, Caring for Others: the Ultimate Balance.”
But her personal balance has always included swimming, dating back to her youth, when she was good enough to single-handedly start the University of Rhode Island swimming program, then just missed making the 1964 Olympic team.
“I started swimming at Boys Club when I was young,” she said. “And I could beat the boys back then, which they didn’t like much. It cost me a few dates when I was older.”
At a crossroads between continuing her swimming career or going into nursing following the 1964 Games, she says she chose nursing, “for all the right reasons,” then never looked back as she and Tom raised two daughters who have now given their parents five grandchildren.
And in the weeks immediately after the fall, it looked as if Uustal might have to content herself with her family, her swimming career done.
But after months of rehab she returned to the water. Against all odds three weeks ago at the YMCA nationals she set six national records and three Masters records. If she can find a sponsor, she’d love to compete in the international senior games this summer.
“Swimming for me has always been a sabbatical for my soul,” she said. “It’s deeply spiritual because it’s very serene. Some people can find that spirit walking on a beach or watching a sunset. But for me it’s always been water-based or water-related.”
Not that Uustal was the only Senior Olympian with a great story to tell.
John Disterdick willed his long and lanky 68-year-old body to a similar six medals in six swimming events, took a deep breath and began discussing the two track & field events, two cycling events and three weightlifting events he was still to tackle.
“I’m a huge advocate of redefining aging through fitness,” said Disterdick, whose son Will plays tennis for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. “I really believe that every hour you put into exercising is paying you back hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in money you’ll save on prescription drugs and health issues.”
Then there was 86-year-old Virginia Vollmer, who held a medal in her hand after completing the 200-yard freestyle for the second year in a row.
“I learned to swim in a creek in Mercersberg, Pa.,” said Vollmer, who completes a half-mile workout four times a week at Alexian Village. “I’ve got a bad left knee but I can still swim. There’s just something nice about being in the water.”
Asked how long she expects to compete, she said, “I hope a long, long time. I had an Aunt Edith who lived to be 111 and I was still playing Scrabble with her when she turned 100.”
This isn’t to say this year’s 471 Senior Olympians never age. Uustal quickly plugged the Chattanooga manufactured heating balm Icy Hot, saying, “If I could put Icy Hot in an IV, I would.”
But what she would most do is convince Seniors and future Seniors everywhere to live by a simple creed: “Do what you value and value what you do.”
Especially if what you value can provide a sabbatical for your soul.