Great to hear from you, Jim! I'll continue to pray for you and your family and your department. And, like Trooper said above, there really is a LOT to be said for positive thinking. Whatever you do, don't let it get you down. I had a friend in EMS that was hit by a drunk on the turnpike in the fog and lost his leg (traumatic amputation). I happened to be working the trauma unit in the ER that night when he was brought in. Despite the pain he was in, he was already talking about getting a prosthetic leg and getting back to work. (30 mg of Morphine hadn't touched the pain, but he was a big guy, too.) Six month after the accident, and after a lot of red tape that changed the rules, he was back at work as a paramedic. The department's rules said he couldn't work with that type of injury (considered a 40% full body impairment or something like that), so he challenged it and got them to amend it, stating that even with that type of injury, if he could pass the physical part of the entrance exam for medics and firefighters, he could go back to work. He barely passed....but he passed. All because of his positive attitude and the support of good friends. And believe me, Jim, you've got a lot of friends here on Jeepz that are willing to support you the best they can.
Hang tough, bud, it's not over till you say it's over!!
