Firefighter with ostomy

I have been a firefighter for close to three years now. I have seen a lot of things in my years of being a firefighter. From my job, I had a life-changing accident that changes how I live my life now. I am happy that I am still around to this day to tell people about the accident so they can be aware of the dangers this job can have. I am a public speaker when I am not fighting fires. I use this opportunity to share my experience and connect with other ostomy patients like myself. If you have not made it to one of my events, then you are in luck; I am going to share with you what happened and how it changed my life. 

One day on the job, we got a call about a raging fire taking over a nearby factory. We did not know what kind of factory only got the location. We answered the call to action and rushed to get ready, throwing on our overalls and oxygen tanks and jumping into the truck. As we rushed through the streets to get to the factory, my fire chief told me I would be on the big truck ladder. I have only done it a few times, but I felt confident and was glad he trusted me to take on such an important job. When we pulled up, I could feel the heat from inside the truck. We rushed to get everything set up; I ran to get the ladder in place. 

After I got the ladder in place and began climbing up, I had a hose draped over my shoulder and climbed as fast as I could. Little did I know this fire would change my life. As I almost reached the top, a massive explosion erupted from the side of the building closest to us. It knocked me off my feet, and I benga plummeting towards the truck fifteen feet below me. I landed on my back. As soon as I landed, I knew something was wrong inside of me. An additional ambulance was immediately dispatched after hearing about this. The ambulance that was already there helped me up off the truck and to their vehicle. I was happy to be alive and walking, but I knew something was wrong. 

I was rushed to the hospital, where an x-ray was rushed to get done, and a doctor came to see me almost as soon as I got out of the x-ray room and into my own. He told me my x-rays did not look good, and I would need an ostomy procedure because my large intestine ruptured. I said, let’s do it and did not look back. Once the procedure was done, I stayed in the hospital for a few days, where I spent learning about ostomy and how to take care of my stoma and pouch. Just about all my coworkers came to see me, and they were glad I was still alive and could walk as a fall like that should have broken my spine. 

I am very reluctant not to have ended up with a worse result, all things considered. I use my experience to teach others about safety in the firefighter world. I am also trying to get improvements on the tools we use to aid in the reduction of injuries and falls as I had. I’m still able to do my job, but the boss refuses to put me on the ladder again, and I don’t blame him. I don’t want to go up a ladder again if I can avoid that. I’m so happy to be alive and walking. Even though I had an ostomy procedure, I am still the same guy I was before.