Source: Waterloo Chronicle
Bret “the Hitman” Hart won plenty of championships in his over 20-year pro wrestling career, but his toughest opponent — and his greatest victory — came in the form of a devastating stroke in the summer of 2002.
The Calgary-born celebrity and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Famer is the new spokesperson for the March of Dimes Stroke Recovery Canada program.
While visiting friends in Kona, Hawaii this past week, Hart took time to speak with me over the telephone about the stroke that caused him partial paralysis, requiring months of physical therapy.
“I woke up in the hospital feeling like I was at the bottom of a hole, flat on my back with nowhere to go,” recalled Hart. “I got up each day though telling myself that I am going to get out of there.”
Undergoing intensive rehabilitation from an interdisciplinary team of therapists and speech-language pathologists, Hart says he owes his rapid recovery to the treatment he received at the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary, AB.
“I noticed from doctors that there was encouragement, but no guarantees,” said Hart. “But the rehab staff stuck with me and helped me gain confidence and believe that I was going to get better, and I knew I had to just buckle down and do everything they asked me to do.”
Physiotherapists worked closely with Hart to regain his ability to walk. Speech-language pathologists worked with him to overcome various speech-related impairments, including slurred speech and an inability to convey emotion due to drooping facial muscles. For a man who had made his living in the highly theatrical business of pro wrestling, such limitations were crushing.
“After all these years now, I find the little deficiencies you get from a stroke improve and trickle back over time,” said the father of four.
As well, it has been a long road reclaiming back the physical strength he once possessed — lifting 350 pounds prior to the stroke. Just last week, Hart successfully bench-pressed an impressive 295 pounds.
Hart has also just finished writing his autobiography. Having been raised amid the royal family of pro wrestling — all Hart’s siblings got into the wrestling business — and trained in his father Stu’s infamous “dungeon,” Hart’s book promises to be a fascinating peek behind the curtain of pro wrestling.
“I feel like the weight of the world is off my back now that my book is done,” said Hart. “I guess like a lot of stroke people, I think you find a whole new way of looking at life when you’re lying on your back or in a wheelchair. You realize that life is so precarious and short and you never know what’s waiting for you around the corner.”
Four years prior to the stroke, Hart’s brother Owen fell and died during a stunt, while being lowered from the rafters of an arena during a live wrestling event. It was a tragedy that, in some ways, the elder brother has been able to put into better perspective since his stroke.
“I went through the tragedy of Owen’s death and lived with so much grief,” said Hart. “Since my stroke, I try to see everyday as a positive.”
Today, Hart is helping March of Dimes Canada in its efforts to improve the quality of life for all Canadian stroke survivors, through education about post-recovery support.
“Everybody sooner or later faces a moment of truth, where you have to rethink your lifestyle approach,” concluded Hart. “When you’ve gone through something like what I’ve gone through, you find yourself reflecting on your life and you become more clued in to what’s important and what’s not.”
And what’s important is that Hart is an inspiration to all stroke survivors, exemplifying what it means to survive and thrive.
Back in his wrestling days, Hart had a slogan: I’m the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be.
His recovery from his stroke — and the work he has done to help others in the same situation — has given new weight and truth to that motto.
