For a man used to coaching others, being the one getting coached isn’t easy.
But Joe Charles, 55, known to the students of his bootcamp on the Manhattan Beach Pier as G.I. Joe,, said the experience of recovering from a stroke is giving him a new understanding of what his students go through.
“It’s not bad being coached because I see myself with my students,” said Charles from a wheelchair in his apartment this Monday.
It’s also made him aware of how beloved he is in Manhattan Beach.
“I didn’t know so many people were into my bootcamp—like, oh my God,” he said, shaking his head with awe. “I didn’t know what I had with the people of Manhattan Beach.”
He opens the door to his fridge and points inside. It’s been stocked by his supporters, who have also set up a crowdfunding page for him on gofundme.com that has raised almost $18,000 for his recovery so far.
Charles was teaching judo at the Martial Arts School in Bellflower on the night of Jan. 21 when he had his stroke, his girlfriend Caroline Roca said.
“After the lesson, he went to the side of the wall and slid down,” she said.
He had difficulty speaking and the right side of his body was paralyzed.
He was taken to the hospital, where he spent eight days in the intensive care unit. After that, he went to Long Beach Memorial for rehab. He was discharged on March 6.
He said his stroke was caused by not taking his blood pressure medication consistently. Roca said that high cholesterol, sodium and stress also played a role.
Now he has home care and regular speech and physical therapy.
He’s working on walking and getting out of his wheelchair, which he hopes to be out of completely in a month.
He’s determined to get better.
“I would like to be back on my game and be at the top of my level,” he said.
He’s motivating himself with the phrases he uses on students. Three yellow sheets of paper are taped to his wall, bearing the phrases, “Waitin’ on you,” “Aizzaa!” and “Only you can make it happen.”
“I see my life as being a challenge,” he said. “Now I want to challenge myself any way and every way I can. It’s a chance to focus on my dream.”
That dream is “to live as an old man,” he said. “Live life the best it can be. That’s all I can do.”
The experience has given him a new appreciation for life and for everyone who has helped him. Earlier in the day, he went to the usual location of his bootcamp.
“All my students were out there on the pier and they said my name,” he recalled. “All my students welcomed me back.”
Now it’s them who are giving him the encouragement.
“I said, ‘Hey, they’re waitin’ on me,” said Charles. “They want me to get better, and I will.” ER
