{"id":396,"date":"2009-03-10T15:47:54","date_gmt":"2009-03-10T21:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/?p=396"},"modified":"2009-03-11T07:12:46","modified_gmt":"2009-03-11T13:12:46","slug":"emcomm-and-post-traumatic-stress-disorder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/?p=396","title":{"rendered":"EMCOMM AND POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bob Hejl – W2IK\u00a0\u00a0 World Trade Center Disaster First Responder<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0I am currently going through my very first bout with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) which was undetected following my Emcomm deployment during the 2001 WTC Disaster at “Ground Zero”. That’s over 7<\/strong> years ago. <\/span><\/div>\n

PTSD can happen at any time after\u00a0an event. As in my case, even years after.\u00a0There is usually a “trigger” (a word, smell, image, another experience, etc) which can set it off, and in my case it was just a thought that popped into my head.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Allow me to explain. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"centerforintrepid\"<\/span><\/span>I currently work at a place called “The Center For The Intrepid<\/strong>” or CFI which is a special \u00a0rehabilitation complex\u00a0on an Army medical base in San Antonio. At CFI, they have all the “Wounded Warriors<\/strong>” (Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines) who’ve lost limbs during the Mid East conflict. This building is the first of it’s kind. They\u00a0develop special prosthetics and also help through\u00a0physical therapy until\u00a0most soldiers\u00a0can walk just as good as you or I. <\/span><\/p>\n

It’s amazing how the latest technology can help these\u00a0amputees. Each prosthetic device can\u00a0cost anywhere from 12 to 100 thousand dollars. I, for one, am glad the government is taking such good care of these heroes. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0I see them every day. There are dozens and dozens\u00a0of these heroes. We interact and they enjoy talking to a civilian who was also a veteran. <\/span><\/div>\n

One day, last month, while noticing quite a number of them in the lounge, I started thinking: “If the World Trade Center Disaster didn’t occur, probably all of these brave men and women would still have their missing limbs.”<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Whether correct or false, this set off my “trigger”\u00a0and began\u00a0my first bout with PTSD, even though I had no earlier typical symptoms such as dreams or nightmares of the event.\u00a0I began having breathing problems, but only at night.\u00a0I could not sleep because it felt as if I was having an asthma attack even though I don’t have an asthmatic condition. It felt like I was suffocating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My house was thoroughly checked for irritants such as mold,\u00a0etc.\u00a0Nothing was found.\u00a0I even had a chest x-ray which revealed no serious problems other than\u00a0many small\u00a0particles that were stuck in my lungs from the WTC exposure but not enough to cause this type of breathing\u00a0problem. I found out that could I easily fall asleep on a cot out on my porch, but not indoors. This was how my PTSD surfaced. <\/span><\/p>\n

Upon consultation with experts in the field (and there are several at CSI who deal with the soldiers’ PTSDs and emotional problems) it seems that my subconscious had a fear of being trapped in a collapsed building. I am currently working through my PTSD condition\u00a0through consultation and medication. <\/span><\/p>\n

Last night, I could actually sleep indoors as long as some windows were open and I faced one. Taking an all natural sleep enhancer was also\u00a0needed. Slowly, and hopefully, I can return to a normal sleep routine.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now that I’ve discovered that I actually have PTSD,\u00a0it is something I’ll have to deal with for the rest of my life.\u00a0There is no such thing as a “cure” for PTSD and it could crop up\u00a0as other symptoms.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In passing this information along, I am hoping that other Emcomm workers who might have been or will be\u00a0exposed to sad events such as a plane disaster, etc. will take heed.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Think about how any emergency event might affect you. PTSD can sneak up on you, as it did for me. Know that it might be a possibility and read more about PTSD. <\/span><\/p>\n

Emcomm is a very important part of assisting in a disaster. We need to keep responding as the professionals we all are. Just be aware that ALL rescue workers can be at risk from developing\u00a0PTSD whether you handle an axe, a tourniquet or even a microphone. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“If the World Trade Center Disaster didn’t occur, probably all of these brave men and women would still have their missing limbs.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10,9,3,14],"tags":[43,44,41,42,39,38,40],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=396"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":400,"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396\/revisions\/400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sanantoniohams.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}