hi dell. i too was a fourteen year FF/EMT when my spinal crap hit the fan. that was it for me too. the key thing here is if any FF cannot return to full duty at 100%, unfortuently, you simply no longer fall into the very basic standard requirements for your job. i know how much it sucks to simply have to give up something you love, but you DO have to also think of the people you serve who are depending upon YOU to just be able to actually even do your job for them too?
the thing about firefighting IS the nature of how much real huge unpredictability just IS part of that job, no matter if it is a structure fire or MVA requireing the hurst tool(alot of overall back strain just using that at all) to get people out, you cannot always count on what is simply going to happen at any given time and your quick response and your strength and abilities are crucial in protecting yourself and the people who are simply relying on you too. its just the true nature of this job. just how many times have you actually had a call come thru that states it is one type of call but when you get there you find something totally and COMPLETELY different than you were actually told by dispatch? that real unpredictablity even at that very basic initial call level is bad enough, i DO remeraber those, but the call itself can change sooo very quickly at times as you know that YOU have to do whatever it takes to just get that job done. and it is not usually always 'good' for our bodies either, esp that spinal level. but it just really truely IS that constant 'change up' that happens really that simply requires us as RAB to be able to even do that and that does require a physically fit 100% FF to just even be able to do that at all. even if you get that pain down, it will not unfortunetly really change what is just there in your back at all. it is still slippage that can herniate.
i actually herniated two seperate discs while on the job. one in my lower c spine that became hugely symptomatic and HAD to have fusion, but that alone was just supposed to fuse and i would have been able to return to the job after medical leave and light duty til i was back up to par. but my other disc is in my lurabar and actually much worse than what the level of damage even was at the c spine one but totally unsymptomatic and simply found during a full spinal MRI i had to have done, but during my initial c spine MRI, i was also found to have some insane vascular glob of veinous fed blood vessels that was actually bleeding into my cord off and on, just had no freaking clue it was even there til that needed c spine MRI just showed it. i ended up having to have a scarey ass surgery done on my cord to remove it. THAT is actually what took me out of my normal life for good. i was forced to have to resign my posistion in 2004 after 14 wonderful and amazing years of just doing what i loved to do. that was the hardest part of even having a ton of spinal cord damage to deal with, giving up my identity, ya know what i mean?
your FD doc or whoever you guys have to see for your annual physicals will be the one who realistically would determine your overall fitness for duty here. but with what you unfortunetly have, as AZ pointed out here, you could very easily, if you continue to just do what i know is the 'the job' , you could seriously end up damaging yourself to the point where you may not be able to actually really 'do' anything as far as work, ya know? that would be my bigger fear for you here overall. going into the training/teaching aspect of this job may be a good solid option for you since i too know that any light duty job in FFing IS always only a temp deal til they expect you will eventually return to that 'full duty' at some point. unfortunetly for me, i would never be able to get back there no matter what.
you just really seriously have to look at the much bigger picture here dell. not only do you have "you" to worry about in any given situation like a structure fire, just a good example. but you also have potential victims who are relying on you here along with the FF who goes into that structure with you? you already just 'know" you have a certain level of very real trust and it IS a given that no matter what should happen in there, you just DO have each others back and will be there should something happen and get their a** out. the type of problem you have there in your back hon, just sets up your spinal structures to that much more easily herniate should any sudden heavier lifting occur or anytime you lift at all. the sheer compression that is upon all those seperate discs and vertebrae is huge, and if there just is any slippage like you have that does actually weaken the overall integrity of that spinal structure, you could herniate a disc right into the spinal cord area. any herniation almost always will go towarRAB the path of least resistance which is that cord area only becasue of the huge amount of ligaments and muscle and interlocking boney prominences holding back anything from backing out instead? so everything goes forward and towarRAB that susceptable cord area.
i really am sorry to even have to mention any of this to you dell. but unfortunetly this crap just does happen to some of us. and the nature of this job is absolutely brutal on the human body in ways you probably have not even felt yet too(jonts mostly). just how many years have you actually had on the job dell? but you seriously need to find out just how truely bad your situation actually even is since you have not yet even had a good experienced ortho even do 'their' own actual 'read" of your hardfilms yet and a good in depth neuro exam either. unfortunetly, what any given rad report states, it has been my own experience with having over 18 MRIs done since 01 along with simply reading many many other peoples situations here on these boarRAB too that what ANY actual mere radiologist 'feels" they actually even "see' upon anyones films is sooo individual and only as good as the overall experience of the actual rad doing that read realistically even has. seeing that ortho for that eval/consult and HIS impressions will simply really tell you more about just how bad things realistically may be or even not be depending, in there and what your options actually are here.
you seriously NEED to have that ortho consult/eval done and just see what he or she actually feels(from actual hanRAB on experience) about the true extent/level of just what your spinal issues are and would mean for you and your future. that just really DOES need to be done to really truely 'know' anything and not only a rad report to go by. hopefully things are not as bad as you may think when the more experienced ortho looks at your films, or it could be pretty close to it too unfortunetly. but this eval and consult is what your very next step should and neeRAB to be before anything else right now, so you actually just know what you are dealing with.
i really am hoping that you will be able to continue to do the job dell, really. i know how it impacted me. but you still do have a "vulnerable" area down there or that rad would not have noted it on the rad report. but it just neeRAB much better more qualified definition here in order to seriously even know what will and wont be a possible for you. i do wish you all the luck in the world here dell. just get that appt/referral set now. and do please keep us all posted on anything you should find out, K? take care, marcia
