Sequoyah County Sheriff ’s Deputy Duwaine Chase could be relaxing at home right now having taken a medical retirement, and virtually no one would have blamed him.
But that’s not Duwaine Chase. When such a scenario was mentioned last Monday at the county commissioners’ weekly meeting, Chase summarily dismissed such a notion.
“That was not an option,” he said, emphasizing his resolve to return to duty.
As Undersheriff Charles House told the commissioners, it was last September when a mass was discovered on Chase’s foot. It turned out to be cancer. Chase made the decision to have the mass removed, which entailed removing his left foot and most of the bottom part of his leg.
Last week, he was released from his doctor’s care to return to full duty.
“So to go from October having it completely removed, to get his prosthetic, to get rehab — he checked himself into a two-week rehab place where they really worked his tail end off,” House said in tribute to his deputy.
“I got to talk with Duwaine last week a little bit about it, and he said it’s probably — it’s hard to say — maybe one of the best things that’s ever happened to him. It changed his way of life, changed his way of thinking, changed his family’s life.
“Duwaine, we appreciate your hard work and your willingness to want to come back so soon,” House said. “Me and Larry said, ‘Look, take your time.’ But he’s kinda hard-headed.”
Sheriff Larry Lane said Chase’s rehabilitation was something right out of Hollywood.
“He was sending us videos when he was rehabbing, playing ‘Rocky’ music and he was running up the driveway,” he said, eliciting laughter from those attending the meeting in appreciation of Chase’s dedication. “He worked his tail off, he did. I’m proud of him.
“He probably could have taken medical retirement,” Lane pointed out, with the unspoken testament of “but he didn’t.”
“He could be sitting at home right now still saying, ‘I can’t work’,” House added. “It’s good to see county employees who have that drive that say we’re going to get back to work instead of sitting on the couch.”
Returning to full duty given the circumstances was not for those short on resolve. But the physical aspect was only part of the battle. House explained that Chase “got mentally prepared also for this, which was good, because this weekend he got tested a little bit — had two fights he had to encounter.”
House reminded the commissioners that the reason for shining the spotlight on Chase, as has been done for others, was because the sheriff ’s office is committed to recognizing some of its employees “to bring some positive back to them, and let them know we do appreciate them.
And when it came to Chase, “we couldn’t think of a better guy.”
