I just stumbled on this thread, so apologies for being late to the party, so to speak. Steve, I don't know you, but I want to send my best wishes in your recovery. We do share a couple things, one being Hearth members. Another...
I am a 16 year firefighter myself, all volunteer, now retired. The bond firefighters share is special.
I want to tell you to keep your spirits up. Tell yourself you are going to again do all of the things dear to your heart. Don't accept anything else. With that, a story:
My brother Wes was mauled by a large grizzly bear two months ago while he was hunting. The bear pulled him off of his snowmobile while he was parked, admittedly too close, to the bear. The 9 foot boar bit a large chunk out of his left thigh, rolled him over and went for his face. Is less than 20 seconds the bear tore his entire lower jaw off of his face, ear to ear. 3/4 of his tongue was removed when the jaw ripped free and his left eye exploded into his sinus cavity with the impact. A gaping hole was left with the jaw bone gone, exposing his entire throat. Loose skin hanging like curtains was all that remained from his upper lip down to his adams apple.
His two partners, one that happend to be a dentist, the other in dental school, attended to him 50 miles from town in the middle of nowhere. They packed snow around his face and throat, applying pressure to keep him from bleeding out. A frantic call was made to me via ham radio, and I dispatched a helicopter and a doctor to the accident scene, and he was flown back to Nome. An hour later he was on his way to Anchorage, and promptly rerouted to Harborview medical center in Seattle via lear jet. Wes never lost consciousness. He walked to the chopper.
Tomorrow, Thursday, Wes undergoes his 9th surgery in two months. At the moment, he breathes through a trach, sees through one eye, and eats via a stomach tube. He cannot talk, so he writes me and others most every night via computer. He has had multiple skin grafts. A 9" section of his left lower leg bone was harvested, cut and shaped and surgically installed as his new lower jaw. This surgery alone took 11 hours. I was there for that one.
We all know he has a long road ahead. But we are optimistic. And he is especially upbeat. He is still at Harborview. We all are hoping he can return to Alaska here soon.
The end of this story finishes with the fact that Wes is a 32 year firefighter, still active, and a 10 year volunteer EMT II. Five of those firefighter years he served as Chief.
So there you go, a bond, in more ways than one. I hope this story will help lighten your healing days. Like my brother, be thankful for being alive. The alternative is unacceptable.
I shall keep you in my thoughts and prayers. All the best.
Nate
Nome Alaska
