AFTER THE RESCUE: A 'Recovering' Fire Chief’s Guide to Surviving PTSD and Reclaiming His Life!

On July 2, 2014, my life changed in a matter of seconds. I woke up face-down in the Southern California high desert, alone and bleeding. My jaw had been shattered. In that moment, I believed I had been shot. The reality was just as brutal. A skid-steer machine had launched a rock at extreme speed, striking my face from over 50 yards away. What followed was a fight for survival. I radioed a Mayday to my crew as I struggled to hold myself together. Within minutes, I was airlifted to a Level-1 Trauma Center in critical condition. My recovery was long and relentless, involving over 200 procedures, along with the lasting impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But the hardest battle wasn’t physical. I lost my career, my sense of purpose, and my identity. Depression took hold, and at my lowest point, suicide felt like a way out. This book is my journey back. Through years of determination and fortitude, I found a way to rebuild my life. My story is shared in these pages to reach those who are struggling, to remind them that even in the darkest moments, there is still a path forward.