Anyone been laid-up for a while?

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Permalink Reply by Brent Sanger on October 17, 2008 at 8:12pm

The big question is are you right or left handed? That will determine what you can do and how much of it. There is always catching up on all the reading it seems we never have time to do. More importantly, there is the opportunity to spend much needed quality time with family and friends. For now, the best thing to do would be relax and let your body heal. Any kind of injury like that is not something you bounce back from overnight.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Sterricker on October 17, 2008 at 8:37pm

Thanks Brent. I'm unfortunately right handed. The part I neglected to put in my original post was that I have 19-month old and 4-month old girls at home. The good part is being able to spend this time with them. The bad part is not being able to hold, play or do many other things with them, not to mention the added stress that it puts on my wife. It just sucks. I've never been off for any amount of time in 14 years.

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Permalink Reply by Brent Sanger on October 17, 2008 at 8:43pm

I remember those days. I was laid up for a while with a hernia in 1994, and my daughter was 3 at the time. I couldn't pick her up or anything else for that matter.

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Permalink Reply by Travis Rask on October 19, 2008 at 3:03am

Wow - I couldn't imagine your pain! My condolences.

I've been out for almost two weeks now. Had a nasty bout with MRSA. The worst part is the side effects of the drugs they prescribed for treatment - tired, achey, anxious etc. Dying to heal up and get back to work!

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Permalink Reply by George Humphrey on October 20, 2008 at 10:39pm

Hey Chris
While on te job I was envolved in a MVA that gave me a triple femur FX , broken left sholder, tripod fracture. and the docs all said I would never fight fire again. Well I was off duty for 8 months and 6 of it I was on crutches. so to answer your question I did alot of reading (which I never did before) and watched lots of videos. I also went to my firehouses on a regular basis because thats what kept me sane. Thats when you relize which brothers are true and which ones are not. The guys always made me feel like I was still with them even when half of them thought I would not make a full recovery. I always felt at home when at the firehouse, no matter which shift was on. The brothers always made me feel like I was still part of the crew. Keep your head up and dont let negative thoughts get you down you will come back just make sure you are ready and dont rush it. I know that sounds like a bunch of BS but believe me when I came back I quickly realized I did it too soon. Its all good now but back then I did push myself to come back too soon because I felt like I was gonna miss something and you know what, No matter how long I am gone the fires were still there when I came back. I know you have probably heard this all before but this is coming straight from the horses mouth. Stay safe brother and visit your crew on a regular basis. they will keep you goin

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Permalink Reply by Josh Materi on October 20, 2008 at 10:56pm

"20,000 Alarms" Richard Hamilton FDNY
"Fire Officer's Handbook of Tactics" John Norman FDNY
"Truck Company Operations" John Mittendorf LAFD
"Firefighting Operations In High-Rise and Standpipe-Equipped Buildings" Dave McGrail DFD

If you have not already.........
Good Luck Brother.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Sterricker on October 21, 2008 at 4:13pm

Hey George, thanks. My gig sounds so much more minor than yours I'm kinda embarrassed for feeling bad about it. Glad your're back on the job and healed. I have visited my guys a couple times already. My wife gives me a day here and there to just go and get out and its funny how I wind up at the firehouse each time. The other day I sat around and busted their balls while they were painting getting ready for the Open House just for the fun of it. Thanks for the positive thoughts.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Sterricker on October 21, 2008 at 4:17pm

Josh, thanks for the suggestions. The "Handbook" was a suggested reading title for our Lt's exam about 6 months ago but I haven't read the others yet. Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Brent Sanger on October 21, 2008 at 4:17pm

My first run-in with MRSA landed me in the OR for 90 minutes getting it drained, adnd then 4 more days in a step-down unit. That stuff sucks bad.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Fleming on October 24, 2008 at 9:58am

Hey Chris,
Sorry to hear about your injury and I hope the healing process is going well. I liked Josh's suggestion. When you can't do much it's a perfect time to get some reading and studying done while also keeping your brain "In the game". Another way to keep mentally sharp is to use fireground simulators on your computer. Yeah, it's not the same thing but it will give you practise sizing up and making decisions. When I broke my wrist two summers ago, I used to call in the morning to the station and have the guys include me in on one of the meals and I would take care of the dessert. It worked out pretty good for all of us! One bit of advice I will give you, when you start re-hab. follow the therapist's advice. If something hurts, say so and don't over work yourself. Some folks, in a rush to get back, ignore pain or over work the injury thinking "gosh if I was told to do 20 reps 3 times a day, 50 reps 4 times a day is better!" Then they wonder why they have problems all throughout their career!? Think of yourself as a professional athlete. These guys are trained and paid to be in shape, but they still get injured. They have short careers, but they still take the time to heal. You will (hopefully) have a much longer career, so take the time to heal so you can enjoy it. Good luck, and I hope your feeling better soon.

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Permalink Reply by Peter Lupkowski on October 24, 2008 at 3:26pm

Be careful about coming back too early. I slowed the beginning of the healing of my burns by pushing at the start. There are a number of books available for light fire service reading too. I did planning for safety training and caught up on a number of "honey do list" items. It was nice but it wasn't where I wanted to be...

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