Our Personal Health - Who is Really In Charge

We're living in a time when we seem to be fighting about the rights we are accorded by our Constitution. Some argue that our Founding Fathers knew all they needed to in order to create a constitution which would forcefully and clearly demonstrate that we had thrown off the mantle of Colonial rule and that our citizens would be free and equal. OK, maybe free. OK, maybe mostly free.

Two hundred forty one years later, it appears that we're using the amendments as weapons of war - against each other, more than we use them to actually secure the rights and freedoms I believe our Founding Fathers intended. There are the arguments about the First Amendment that is supposed to guarantee our freedom to speak...about any topic we choose, other than outright treason, and even then, to just talk about it, might be protected too!

Then there is the constant bickering over the Second Amendment - the right to bear arms. Some argue that we have the right to bear any arms we want, because the Constitution did not outlaw any weapons. Still others want to forbid anyone except for the police and military to have arms. And we are no closer to working on a solution that we are for a manned expedition to Saturn's sixth moon, Enceladus.

Now I come to the crux of the matter - who is in charge of our health? Since we all agree that we use the possessive pronoun, "our," the answer should be perfectly clear, each person is in charge of their own health! But ask yourself, "Is that really true?" Let's say you are an accountant. Would your employer have any need to assure that you are in peak physical condition? Other than wanting you healthy so that you may do your work, we would probably agree, "No."

What if you are a teacher in a middle or junior high school, teaching math? Would you agree that what applied for the accountant, applies here? What about an attorney? A mayor? A refuse collector? A computer programmer...and so on?

But what about a firefighter, a LEO and/or an EMT/Paramedic? Forget what you feel; would you still claim that you are in charge of your personal health? If you, then I believe you are in the wrong profession. Because these three professions need you to be at your very best physical condition to perform your assigned tasks. And there is the very real risk of a domino effect if you aren't!

In any of these three professions, besides all else, you have taken an oath to protect the lives of others. We all know the saying, "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link." So what happens in the middle of an emergency situation in which not only a citizen's life is depending on you, but your partner and/or colleagues are depending on you, and you give out? Now the dominoes begin to fall.

The victim is in more trouble, your colleagues have to stop what they were doing to cover for you. And now, either instead of or besides the initial victim, your colleagues have to start taking care of you. You mumble beneath the oxygen mask, "Oh, I'm OK, I'm just a little tired" as you try to sit up, but find you have less strength than a piece on linguine. You're not OK. 

Now, one team is rushing you to the nearest ER. To hell with the scene of the emergency, they are focused on you, taking your vitals, administering medications, driving quickly, but carefully to the hospital. You realize for the first time that the siren you hear is not getting you to the emergency, you're the emergency it is screaming for.

When the initial emergency is over, instead of going back to patrol, the firehouse or the rescue base, most of your coworkers make their way to the hospital. They are going there, because of you. They are waiting for news about you. And as they wait, slowly at first, then more quickly as the info gets passed around, they realize that  your emergency was not due to an accident, fall, burn, collision at the location, it was because  you were ill! As they realize this, they pause for a moment and look inwardly at themselves. 
"Geez, could that happen to me?"
"Wow! We're about the same size - we switch clothes all the time. Am I like that, too?"
"Damn, I can't remember the last time I really looked at myself in the mirror!"
"I've been meaning to stop smoking, really I have!"

And then silence. Everyone stands a bit taller, but looking down. No one knows how to look directly at your spouse as he/she quickly walks up to the sliding doors of the ER, carrying one child in his/her arms and hold the hand, almost dragging a second one. The doors close. All is quiet.

And then, the scream.

The rules and regulations of your job will tell you what your physical requirements are. And when you signed up, you met most, if not all of them. But today is now - not then! You don't meet those  requirements any more. You've stopped trying. Or you say, "I'll start doing some exercises next week!" Yet, strictly interpreted, you do not meet the departments qualifications any longer.

Could you be threatened with being docked a couple of days? Sure, but what difference will that make. You'll stay home, do a few chores, then do exactly what you've been doing for ages, that got you written up in the first place!

YOU...AND ONLY YOU CAN BE IN CHARGE OF YOUR HEALTH! IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A CHANGE TO IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH, THE DEPARTMENT ISN'T GOING TO DO IT FOR YOU, YOUR DOCTOR ISN'T GOING TO DO IT FOR YOU,  YOU have to be in charge of your health. End of story.

Progress....Follow by the Results From Hitting a Brick Wall

We had a very productive week. After attending to my religious observances, one of my partners, Tom, joined me at a meeting with the Greater Philadelphia Office for Film & Television (www.film.org). We met with the Executive Director Sharon Pinkenson and her Production Coordinator, Erin Jackson Wagner. They were very cordial and welcoming and are looking forward to the production ramping up. They also are very helpful as they coordinate all the meetings with the necessary departments from the city and the various departments we will be working with. They know their stuff and are very, very good at it! As matter of fact, we closed the meeting my asking for some suggestions for the location scouting we were going to do the next day, and after we explained what we were looking for, they both chipped in with numerous suggestions.

The next day, Tom and I headed out bright and early to visit some parts of the city. Philly is a good-sized city so we decided to find the area that would be most appropriate to the three different active fire scenes that will have to be shot. Reviewing my notes, I have nearly 20 specific areas to consider, but there is one that really stood out. The Film Office will also help us in searching the records for the properties to see which ones might be available for use. We are very lucky to be working with such professionals and I'm sure their guidance will be a major asset to our efforts.

Now, we must concentrate on the work that needs to be done to get ready for the launch of our crowdfunding effort to raise the necessary funds for the shoot. The first thing we have to do is create what is referred to as a "pitch reel" or a "sizzle reel." It is a short video in which we explain why we're making this effort to shoot our pilot episode. We have no more than two minutes to convince a viewer to support our efforts financially. However, don't think that that is the only way for you to help. You can also assist us by telling your friends and family to follow us on Twitter (@DalmatProd). Additionally, if you or someone you know is affiliated with a company that works with the fire-rescue service in any manner, let them know about our efforts. We will be looking for corporate sponsorship in return for promotional consideration in the show. 
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Those of you who have been reading our blog regularly know that one of our major concerns and causes is firefighter health and wellness. Sadly, just this week, we lost a 50 year old, battalion chief from South Carolina to a cardiac episode.

A couple of weeks ago, I told you about my neighbor, a 17-year veteran of the fire service and four more with EMS. He was scheduled for a knee replacement and was sent for his pre-op evaluation. During the EKG, the doctor saw an irregularity and told him he had to get his butt over to the office of two "interventional" cardiologists. He was scheduled for a full thalium stress test. The results that showed up were so critical that they stopped the test and had him admitted right away. When all the tests were done, he found out his capacity was at 35%, he had a thickening of atrial wall, had suffered a silent MI and needed a stent immediately. He also found out that he had to put in his disability retirement papers.

Now I don't care who you are. When you are passionate about the job you do and you love to do that job, getting this kind of news is like running into a brick wall. And that is the way it hit him.

I had the chance to chat with him a short while this morning. He's begun the disability paperwork. He's following the doctors' orders, taking his meds and most of all, working hard to lose weight. But he told me that a few weeks ago, he found himself in that "dark place." Some of us know of what he speaks and some of us don't. But we'll just call it a bad depression. Here he was, going great, loving his job at a very busy station, with 17 years under his belt and looking forward to those last three to retire under the Florida state plan. Instead, his entire world collapsed around him. 

The same thing happened to me twenty-three years ago, when I finally had a good job paying me very well and two years into it, I had a backache. Next thing I know, I have two herniated disks, multiple surgeries and am diagnosed with "failed-back syndrome." I was disabled. Once I got past all the surgeries, injections, etc., and I was back home all alone, with my kids in school and my wife already working three jobs, I felt like the biggest loser in the world. True, I had a private disability policy that covered me, however it didn't pay anything near what I had been making before I got hurt. And the worst part was that by now, the doctors concluded that my back was probably damaged when I partially fell through the floor of a burning house during a training program by the State of North Carolina. But it was only a presumption. No way ti prove it, though I did cause me to blow one knee out and that was covered. 

As my neighbor was explaining this to me, I interrupted him for a moment and said, "I know you absolutely hate having to put in your papers, but I'm damned glad you are still here to put them in."

So, what about you? Are you going to make it to retirement?  No one can make any guaranties, but we can do all we can to remain or get ourselves healthy. Please....for your family, for your friends, for yourself, embrace the new Firefighter Health Initiative. 

Thanks for stopping by.....Stay Safe

How Much is 40% to a Firefighter?

This post that you will read here, encompasses an extremely important issue that many first responders, especially, firefighters, EMT/Paramedics and Police Officers, must be made to read!! "Why?" you ask. Because for the year 2012-2013, forty percent (40%) of the firefighters who died either during or subsequently to responding to and/or working at a major, physically exhausting call, did so as a result of a medical condition.

I approach this important issue from three levels. I was a volunteer firefighter at two departments, one in NC and one in NY from 1977-1981 until an injury took me out-of-service. I earned my EMT-I and II in NC and also worked for the county EMS there for eight months, before we moved up to NY. Finally, I spent twelve years as the administrator of a medical practice, where the doctor used me for "other" duties, as well.

Throughout the entire time and even til today, I have never stopped reading FireHouse Magazine. For many years, other than visiting firehouses wherever I went, the magazine was my key connection to the fire-rescue service. And every month, I would read the LODD dedications and wonder why...why were so many firefighters dying? Not just dying, but dying from what looked like conditions unrelated to the last call or calls they had been on. 

You see, I guess I was lucky. Because during my brief years of service, I did not experience a LODD either in my own or the surrounding departments. We had some close calls in both locales, but no fatalities.

On the other hand, I've never been considered "svelte," at least not since I was seven years old. I started packing on extra pounds at that age and yo-yo'd the rest of my life. I was the last kid chosen by the others to be on a team in neighborhood sports. I had the cheeks that all of my late aunts loved to pinch. Finally, in college, I started to drop some weight by playing softball with friends. 

I've now been married over forty years and my wife is a terrific cook and baker. So through most of those 40 years, my weight has fluctuated, but it was always my decision to lose weight. I never waited for my doctor to tell me. I knew it myself when it was tough to button a pair of pants or my suit jackets were getting too tight.When that happened, I'd go "back on the wagon," and drop 15-25 pounds. I'd keep it off for several months, sometimes longer. But then the extra pounds renewed their attach and started to creep back on.

Finally, partly due to determination and partly due to meds that I have to take continually for my severe back condition, I've lost about 30 pounds and kept it off for almost a year now. Funny thing is, my back injury doesn't allow me to walk as much as I used to, so I exercise my bending my elbows....and pushing myself away from the dinner table!

As I'm sure you'll agree, we are part of a wonderful family. No matter where we serve, no matter if we're volunteers, career folk or paid-on-call responders, a firefighter is always a firefighter. Thus, as I read the LODD bulletins that come through my email or I read the articles online, in the paper or watch them on the news, every loss saddens me, especially those that might have been prevented. For some are simply not preventable and that's the first fact that we have to acknowledge, whether we like it or not.

However, we see that the rate of LODD's caused by health problems is nearly 40% of all LODD's, it must give us pause. As a popular commercial for heart disease demonstrates, no one really knows when they will have a heart attack, an aneurism or a stroke. What we can and do know is if we are out of physical conditioning to do our jobs. Sure, you may have passed a PAT test 15 years ago, but where are you now, especially if you're in a smaller department, that doesn't require annual or semi-annual physical exams? Do you still smoke or chew tobacco? What is your resting blood pressure? Pulse? What is your weight today compared to what it was when you entered the job? Has an officer, your spouse/significant other or doctor told you you need to lose weight? If so, have you heeded their call or brushed them off.

Remember the old TV show, "Home Improvement," where Tim Allen played the host of a TV show aimed at "real men," with "real power tools!" The more power, the more Tim howled and growled. While that was funny on TV, it can all too often lead to a tragedy in real life. Your doctor tells you to drop 25 pounds. "Yeah, Doc, sure," you reply, knowing full well that the doctor has no idea how hard you swung the sledge earlier that day to take out a heavy door. You tell yourself that those 25 pounds that he/she is complaining about is really what gives you that extra bulk, that power, to do your job! Horse shit! And you know it!

There's no doubt in my mind that over 90% of us love what we do. We love the action, we love the thrill, we love the services we perform and we don't want anything to get in the way of that. But ask yourself, "What else do I love?" Think about that for a moment or two. Then make a list of what else you love, i.e. your wife, your kids, your parents, your significant other, your siblings, your friends. Which ones are you ready to cross off the list first. What's more important to you, the job that you love or the people that you love and love you?

Remember, we can't control when and where the Devil wants to dance, but we can decide what kind of a "dance partner" he's going to face!

Stay Safe and let's make sure, "Every One Goes Home!"