what Can I do

I am a 50 year old fire fighter that will be having a PM next week, The doctor said I am missing a beat' My heart rate drops to 35 beats a minute and to over 90. I all so have atrilfibilation. Have have been active my whole life. I love my job, I sail,Snow ski, Backpack, Rv camping,.
I need to know If I will ever be on a fire engine again, or do any of the things that I love doing? Will workers comp take this case? what is my recovery time?

5 Comments

You should decide

by hotform - 2008-03-16 01:03:32

Its going to take a few weeks after getting your pacer before you really feel like doing a lot, but I think a lot of this is up to you.
I am not a fire fighter, but I will tell you my shortened story.
I needed a pacer at age 44 for pretty much the same thing you are talking about. I considered not getting one at all, but my wife and son vetoed me.
I talked to my doctor up front and I had the following conditions for getting one.
1. I wanted to continue working in my job. At the time I was a supervisor for a forging unit that used alternating magnetic field induction units. So the danger of magnetics and my pacer had to be investigated first. I found out that as long as my unit was a couple of feet away from the induction coil, I wasn't going to have a problem and I never did. Magnetism loves the metal of the machinery more than it will ever love you. Remember this for anything magnetic.
My employer valued me and was willing to work with me to make sure everything was going to be OK.
I have been around some truly large electric equipment during all this time and I have NEVER had a problem. Induction coils and transformers would make some of the pacers who come here faint as they worry about little things like microwaves, cell phones and the like.
2. I was a 6 to 10 mile a day runner at the time and wanted to continue doing so. It took a little adjusting but by the end of week three I was passing my cardiologist on my morning run.
3. I wanted to enjoy life. I still wanted to ride my motorcycle, go for walks in the woods with my wife and dog, go swimming, cycling, camping and everything else that makes life fun.
I have achieved all these things, but it wasn't always easy. In the beginning I was fearful and I had questions, but I went and found the answers. I called the pacer company and talked to an electrical engineer for 2.5 hours on the phone. I researched information on the things I wanted to do. I talked to other people with pacers (I have a friend with and ICD that loves to ride his Harley).
The biggest thing was I just decided not to live in fear of anything. I talked my employer. I might add that since that time I have switched employers and I haven't told them a thing as I consider it such a non issue.
I think your biggest struggle may be that your employer and doctor are not going to want to assume any liability should something happen to you on the job.
Is there another job within the department such as an auditor, safety director, or training director that you would be suited to that they would consider moving you to? Perhaps. I haven't seen them on here for a while, but I know that we have had at one time a EMT and a fire fighter that had to move on from their jobs because of the liability issue. I wish they would stop by as they would be a great sounding board for you.
From my standpoint it has been "always take the offensive, never dig in". I stopped living in fear and grabbed life by the horns and I am going to ride that baby to the ground.
Good Luck and if I can answer anything for you, please feel free to send me a message. Rick

I am a Firefighter

by rt60 - 2008-03-16 11:03:14

You will be fine. I am still amazed at the amount of firefighters that I see on this web site. I had my PM fitted on Dec 1, 2006 and had some of the same questions that you have. I went back to work on Feb. 1 2007, I promoted to Captain last October. I ride a very busy Quint. As far as workers comp my E.P. said it was probably due to stress but we could not prove that so it would have to be covered under personal insurance. At first I did not tell anyone in the city except the personnel director. She told me that I could come back to work as long as the doctor would sign a release to work without restrictions and she did. I am a lot better than I was before. I can now keep up with the young guys. I had bradicardia with a pulse down in the upper 20s at night and would only get to about 44 in the day time. I do a lot of the things that they say you should not. Weld, work on running engines, work on electricity and get shocked, use chain saws ect. This has not slowed me down in the least I think it has sped me up. If you would like to PM me please do and we can hook up by phone. E-mail rt60@msn.com.

i am so pleased

by jessie - 2008-03-17 12:03:12

mtorch, i am so pleased you have hooked up withrt60. my daughter has a brother-in-law a firefighter. he was treated for lymphoma a year ago and is doing great. he is back full time and we are hoping he makes the 5 years cancer free. i know he was diappointed he can't be ever hired by another city ever again in his career. the good thing tho he is back at work. we are canadian but i imagine it is the same in the usa and other countries. there should be no restrictions as you are stronger and healthier once you have the p.m. thinking of you and hope things work out well jessie

Hope things are going well...

by morgysmom - 2008-03-24 11:03:09

Hi, Mtorch,
Glad you found the group!! I just found this site about a week ago myself!! I have a 15 yr. old daughter that has had four devices implanted during her few short years. She received her 1st pacemaker at eleven days after birth. Her last device was a pacemaker / defibrillator / resyncronization device, she's had that about 2 & 1/2 yrs. now. She has always done anything & everything that her Cardiologist would allow her to do!! She has played basketball, soccer, rides horses, cheerleading, shows calves and pigs in FFA, you name it!! "Can't" is not in her vocabulary. All of this to say, since you were fairly active all your life anyway, you have an advantage, however, ALWAYS, get permission from your doc, he knows what your heart can handle, then, go for it!! Best of luck, & hope your recovery is quick, so you can get back out there & do the things you love!!!
Linda

workers comp

by cqmccann - 2008-04-29 01:04:38

Hey,
I am a 39yo firefighter and have been on the job for 10years. I developed a slow heart rate and it was in the low 30's and I was passing out every once in a while. I filed a worker's comp case and it got denied the first time but I am actively fighting it under Firefighter Presumption Law. Every state has a little bit different law and some don't have any but it is worth checking out. I wish you the best of luck! My advice, for what it is worth, is to file a claim. If you have your pre-hire physical that shows a healthy heart and healthy electrical system and it isn't like that now then you have a case. They have to prove you didn't get this problem from the job. You don't have to prove anything. That is the presumption part of the law. Look into it at least.
Carolyn

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