Bob’s relationship with the YMCA goes back several decades, when he attended camp as a child in Ohio. When his career in the military brought him to Tacoma in the 1970s, he joined the Pearl Street YMCA to help him quit smoking.
“It took me seven years, but I quit,” says Bob. “I was a pack-a-day smoker. Swimming laps at the YMCA absolutely helped me quit.”
After military service deployments kept him away from the Y for extended periods of time, Bob came back to the Pearl Street Y in 2015. Just a year later, he needed a hip replacement. “I couldn’t walk anymore,” he recalls. Faced with pain, arthritis, and limited mobility, Bob knew he needed a long-term solution.
Bob remembered watching older adults doing water classes back in the late 1970s and decided to give them a try. That decision changed everything. “When I got back into the Y, all this hurt went away,” says Bob. For the past nine years, Bob has been in the pool five days a week, faithfully attending water aerobics at the Pearl Street Y.
Health and Recovery
Day-to-day activities that were easy when he was younger, like putting on his own socks or walking up and down the stairs, had become difficult. The benefits of water aerobics were immediate. The water helped alleviate his arthritis pain and restored his strength.
Even after major health setbacks, like spending three days in the ICU with pneumonia, Bob’s fitness carried him through.
“I never thought I was going to succumb to anything because I was so fit,” says Bob. My doctor agreed. He told me, keep doing the water aerobics.”
Community and Belonging
Just as important has been the social connection. Bob is part of a group of regulars who look out for each other.
“When people don’t show up, we ask where they are,” says Bob. “There’s something special about the people who work out here.”
The instructors mean the world to him.
“I tell them, you have no idea what this does for us older people. They need to know how important they are.”
It’s Essential
For Bob, the Y isn’t optional. It’s essential.
“Life without the Y? I can’t imagine it. It’s as essential as eating good meals.”
He looks forward to the new Pearl Street Family Y, especially the zero-entry pool, which will make fitness accessible to even more people.
“I can’t say enough about the pool and what it has meant to me. It gives us [older adults] the mobility, the strength, and the community we need to live fully.”