By Anne Gagliano
For the firefighter, injury is a fact of life. Between the years 2006-2008, an estimated 81,070 firefighters were injured annually, and those were just the reported injuries. The two prime causes of injury are fire ground operational injuries and EMS runs which are ergo-nomically challenging as they involve lifting, twisting, and sudden movements, often in confined spaces. Most injuries are the result of over exertion and muscle strain. I list these statistics not because they are interesting but because I want to make a point, and the point is this: Firefighter, you can and will get hurt at some point in your career, most firefighters do, so don’t be ashamed when it happens to you.
I wish it was that easy to convince the average firefighter that it’s no big deal to get hurt, but unfortunately, it’s not. I know this from years of watching many other firefighters get seriously injured, and am now suffering through it for the first time with my own husband. You may think, “How selfish of her to imply that she’s the one who suffered, when clearly, her husband was the one who got hurt.” But believe me; we wives of firefighters must endure difficulties unparalleled amongst other wives, for firefighters make terrible patients, possibly the worst patients, and I can attest to at least three primary reasons for this.
1) Denial: Denial about their own medical conditions is so prevalent in men that the government actually put out an advertisement, or warning, that read, “This year, thousands of men will die from stubbornness.” Denial adds to the severity and difficulty of the patient, as firefighters, more so than any other professional men, tend to ignore their injuries and avoid medical treatment at all costs. They do this for several reasons; one, they’re accustomed to being sore all the time anyway as their job is a difficult, physical one; two, they’re used to fixing problems, not being a problem; and three, injury to the firefighter implies weakness, even failure. Mike first hurt his back at a “hoarder” fire, which is one of the most hazardous of house fires. He, typically, ignored the pain, hoping it would go away. This incident was quickly followed by a challenging aid run involving a very “heavy” person, and Mike began to get worried, worried enough to file the paperwork. But, the can-do attitude that is necessary for this job told him to “get up and do it again,” though he could hardly get out of bed.
When he could no longer move, he finally went to the doctor. The initial exam said “possible lumbar muscle strain, out a few shifts,” and Mike was all too eager to accept this diagnosis. But I knew this was bologna—my husband is one tough guy with a very high threshold for pain, and if he can hardly move, there’s more going on than just muscle strain. As is typical of the difficult patient, he had to be forced, cajoled, and out-right bullied into getting all the proper tests, which ultimately proved the injury to be quite a serious one; lumbar disc tears, out a few, possibly several, months.
2) Irritability: Firefighters are typically upbeat, positive, enthusiastic people. They are this way because they love their job. They are physical people, full of endorphins from an active lifestyle and an active profession. But take that away, and you have a grouchy, irritable, unhappy camper on your hands, making firefighters again, very terrible patients, plunging dramatically from their typical highs to extreme lows. They simply hate lying around. And they really hate being told what to do; they’re used to treating people, not being treated. Mike’s misery and anxiety was so palpable during his recuperation over these last few months as to affect me; I too became anxious and miserable.
Worst of all, he actually felt guilty for being injured, for being off work and having to take disability pay; it’s not in his nature at all to be a helpless invalid (or so he described himself.) And underneath all this anxiety and guilt lies the biggest irritant of all: fear. Fear of failure, fear of not being able to perform, and fear of getting old. It takes a very patient person to live with the grouchy firefighter who can’t go to work. I, too, couldn’t wait for his back to heal!
3) Aggression: Aggression has gotten a bad rap these days. Aggression in the proper place is a very good thing. Firefighters need aggression to do their job; aggression is fearlessness, energy and determination, all rolled into one. Aggressive people are achievers, they see things through, and they always find a way to get the job done. My husband Mike is aggressive in all the right ways. But aggression is another reason firefighters make terrible patients. They want to do too much too soon, which can actually impede healing. Mike literally had to be reined in like a wild horse at his occupational therapy sessions. “No no, that’s too much weight just yet!” his flustered therapist would cry out as Mike tried to push the boundaries over and over again. The other patients were being encouraged to do more; many were crying ‘I can’t, I can’t.’ Mike had to be forced to do less, crying ‘I can, I can.’ The therapists told him, “You firefighters are so different from all the rest; most people don’t want to go back to work.” One doctor even told him that if all patients approached their injuries the way he did she could cut her staff in half. So true, firefighters are honest hard workers, but again, they make terrible patients as they tend to go back to work too soon and re-injure.
For you wives out there who are, as I have been, playing nursemaid to your terrible firefighter patient, hang in there. Be calm. Some day soon they will be all healed up and you can finally let go of those reins that have grown so heavy in your hands, letting them at last run full speed ahead. They’ll be cheerful once again, and so will you!
Anne Gagliano has been married to Captain Mike Gagliano of the Seattle (WA) Fire Department for 27 years. She and her husband lecture together on building and maintaining a strong marriage.
