Last week myself, Kelli Krupa, and Paul Gardner had the privilege of delivering the ILFFPS message to firefighters in MABAS 21 which was hosted by the Chicago Ridge Fire Department. Two weeks prior to this event, I presented the message to the firefighter candidates at the Moraine Valley Fire Academy. My thoughts about those few days will be included in the next team newsletter, but it really got me thinking about the two main reasons we exist as a team.
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If you haven’t been following, I had developed what I called a “feeling” in my chest at a recent fire. In all honesty was chest pressure. I hesitate to call it that, after all I’m 49 not 69. Anyway, its official, I have returned to work full duty with no restrictions. That’s what the paper from the doctor says, with the added bonus from the city doctor that it was not duty related. According to my cardiologist when I am under a severe physical load the arteries around my heart go into a spasm causing the pressure and the feeling of fatigue. I cannot duplicate this on a stress test as it’s just not stressful enough. I think it is important for us to really understand that the stress levels we encounter cannot be duplicated outside of doing what each of us, as firefighters, are prepared to do every day.
When we think about heroes the list is endless: Batman, Robin, Spiderman, Hulk, Iron Man, Wonder Woman, The Justice League of America, and so on. How about sports figures: Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Nolan Ryan, Reggie Jackson, Derrick Jeter, etc. As kids (past and present) our list was endless as to who we wanted to be like, especially if they were a key player in either stopping the bad guys or winning a world championship. Alas, we are all grown up and yet we will still hold on to these fond memories for time and eternity. As first responders, we are often viewed as heroes to this world. This begs the question: Who are the real heroes to the men and women who pin on the badge?
A couple of weeks ago, I was approached by a new friend and business mentor Dr. Debra Lindh (Owner of Mindful Effect), to co-host on her new Twitter chat with the moniker #MindfulEffect. I connected with Deb through another Twitter chat I participate in (#PTSDChat) when she contacted me to learn more about the Illinois Firefighter Peer Support team. We had an awesome phone conversation where I then accepted the offer to co-host the inaugural chat. Fellow team member and Peer Coordinator Andy Perry also participated in this chat after he learned about it through a blast email sent by Josh.
So I survived my angiogram.