FIVE years ago, Mosman Park resident Tom Moorman was confined to a wheelchair and could barely talk after suffering a stroke.
Last Sunday, he ran 4km in the Run for a Reason.
The 63-year-old was supported by three of his four sons and staff from the UWA Exercise and Performance Centre who have been helping Mr Moorman achieve his goal since October last year.
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READ NOWMr Moorman celebrated finishing the course by enjoying two beers.
“Crossing the finish line was really good, the hard part was the run,” he said.
“My time wasn’t the best but it was really good fun.”
Mr Moorman had a stroke while driving his car, spent four weeks in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and was in the Shenton Park Rehabilitation Hospital for nine months.
In October last year, he approached the UWA team, including accredited exercise physiologist Dylan Warner, for help to achieve his goal.
Mr Warner said Tom’s speech and physical function had improved dramatically since then.
“That first session we did a 50m run twice and that was our limit and slowly we went to 75m, 100m and built up from there,” he said.
Mr Warner said he was “proud” watching Tom cross the finish line.
“It was awesome. I was just happy for Tom because I know how much it meant to him,” he said.
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