Topeka High's Duane Pomeroy was partially paralyzed in 2020: 'I wasn’t sure I was going to make it'

Topeka High tennis coach Duane Pomeroy swats practice shots to his players while sporting a tie tucked under his tennis shirt collar. Anything to keep the mood light.

Each time Duane Pomeroy steps on the court, it’s a blessing he wasn’t sure he would enjoy a couple of years ago.

In the fall of 2020, the longtime coach of the Trojans’ boys and girls teams suddenly began to experience some strange physical symptoms, including loss of feeling in his extremities and declining strength and mobility.

“I was losing more and more feeling on my right side and in my feet," Pomeroy said. "Eventually, it spread over my whole body.

“I made three trips to the emergency before they diagnosed that I had Guillain-Barré syndrome, which can cause paralysis. They’re not sure what caused it, but it can sometimes be caused by a flu shot.”

Guillain-Barré diagnosis led to hospitalization as symptoms worsened

Pomeroy was admitted to the hospital, where things continued to worsen.

“By the time they diagnosed it, I could not move either arm or either leg. I wasn’t sure I was going to make it,” Pomeroy said. “But once they diagnosed it and I started getting better, then I began to become more optimistic.”

After receiving IV treatments for several days, Pomeroy’s condition stabilized. But he had long road to recovery ahead. He was eventually transferred to the Kansas Rehabilitation Hospital, where he spent a month relearning the most basic of movements.

“I had a speech therapist to learn to swallow again. I had to learn to roll over again. It took a while to be able to sit up, and then to stand,” Pomeroy said. “When they sent me home, I had to walk with a walker. Throughout that time, I wondered if I would ever play tennis again.”

From learning to swallow again to playing tennis in just a few months

But within just a few short months, Pomeroy had a racket in his hand. It turned out that years playing tennis had conditioned his body for a rapid recovery.

“It helped keep (the symptoms) from being as bad as they are for some people. It helped with my recovery,” Pomeroy said. “For example, in physical therapy, when I was learning to stand, I really struggled with my balance. They wanted me to try to squat. I felt like I was about to fall over.

“But then when I got to about here (with knees flexed about 15 degrees), I said ‘Hey, this feels good.’ I had my knees bent at what would be in tennis the ready position. They said: ‘That’s the muscle memory kicking in. We can work with that.’ And my recovery went from there.”

Pomeroy has had a long career of teaching and public service in Topeka. He was a member of the Topeka City Council from 1993 to 2005. He even stepped in as acting mayor for 81 days in 2003. He happened to be teaching government classes at Topeka High at the time, so his students were treated to a field trip to the mayor’s office to see him on the job.

Today, Pomeroy relishes those memories, and the fact that he’s making new ones. After returning home from the hospital in mid-December 2020, Pomeroy was thankful just to be alive.

“For a day or two there, I wasn’t sure I was even going to survive. So I feel good to have a chance to enjoy all the things in my life,” Pomeroy said. “My wife and I have our 50th wedding anniversary coming up next spring. Every day, every little thing just seems to be a blessing.”

But Pomeroy felt he had to get back to coaching for his recovery to be complete.

“It was important to me to be out here with these kids,” Pomeroy said. “I was 68. I wasn’t expecting to be able to get back to full strength, so I wasn’t sure I would be able to coach. But I wasn’t ready to quit.”

Duane Pomeroy is now the longest-tenured coach in Topeka High history

A motivation for Pomeroy to get back on the court: He was on the verge of becoming the longest-tenured coach in Topeka High School history. Though he didn’t start coaching until he was 42, Pomeroy’s 28 years now put him atop the list.

“One thing I guess I did right — I timed it between the seasons,” Pomeroy said, as girls play in the fall and boys in the spring. “That spring, I was back to coach the boys. I could stand and hit, but I couldn’t run or move around. I couldn’t serve because I couldn’t raise my arm.

“By the time of the girls season a year ago, I still had residual weakness and limits to my movement. I couldn’t move fast or play hard. But the girls didn’t see much of the effect the illness had on me.”

His players say they are glad their coach didn’t miss any time with them.

“We were kind of scared,” recalled senior Adisyn Caryl. “He’s been my only tennis coach. We were like, ‘What are we going to do without him?’ He’s been an important part of a lot of our tennis journeys.

“I’d never played tennis before. He really helped me become a player. Not just my skills, but showing me that I can play tennis. He’s really laid back. He really calms us down so that we can play.”

Playing competitive tennis at 70 and coaching Topeka High players

Pomeroy is now doing more than just teaching the game. The man who less than two years ago could barely sit up or roll over in bed is now playing competitive tournaments at age 70.

But the best part is that he can continue working with young people. Pomeroy said he is particularly proud of teaching students whose families can’t afford private lessons to become competitive players.

“Nothing is neater than seeing the kids come in as freshmen and watching their development,” Pomeroy said.

The players appreciate him just as much.

“I was very relieved that he was able to come back, because I don’t know what I would have done with someone else,” Caryl said. “We’re really glad that he’s there for us.”

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka High tennis coach's battle with Guillain-Barre syndrome