PTSD

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A PARAMEDIC’S SUICIDE PROMPTS LIFE-SAVING CHANGES BY JAMIE HALL PARAMEDIC KEITH WELLER stands in the middle of the ambulance bay at Edmonton’s Kildare Station. Save for the whisper of the ceiling fans in the cavernous space, it’s mostly quiet. The station is empty to allow Weller and his support team the access and privacy they need. Flanked by occupational therapist Jarett Stastny and fellow paramedic Calvin Zibell, Weller slowly makes his way toward the far corner of the building, stopping once to quickly wipe the sweat from his brow. With each step, he is drawing ever closer to the nightmare that is Bay Three. Reliving the horror This is where it happened, on the driveway that lies just beyond the massive overhead door. Weller peers through a small window at the cement pad outside, his face an impassive mask. He is reliving a horror that goes beyond anything he witnessed in his 17 years as a paramedic, a profession where carnage and death are just another day at the office. On a winter’s morning months before, Weller discovered his best friend and longtime partner Greg Turner in the back of their ambulance, dead from a self-administered lethal dose of medication. He and Weller had been partners on the job for eight years, friends for even longer. “Greg and I were family,” says Weller, 39, the disbelief still etched on his face. “He was like my brother. I saw him more than I saw my wife and kids.” A devastating loss It was Weller who broke the news to Turner’s wife, Bridget. Turner’s suicide left family, friends and Edmonton’s tight-knit Emergency Medical Services community reeling with grief and struggling to find answers. A highly respected EMS veteran, the 41-year-old had been a paramedic for 15 years. Weller has been struggling with demons since that awful day. Some were born of the tragedy; others had lived in the recesses of his mind for years. “As paramedics, we get thrown into such horrific events,” he says, choosing his words carefully. “We don’t have time to stop and think about things. We go from one call to the next. There’s no time to debrief. I started putting things in the back of my head, in a box.” He smiles, ruefully. “After a while, that box gets full. It starts to leak.” Paramedics “mask things” Weller was officially diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the weeks following Turner’s suicide. He understands now that he has suffered from acute PTSD for a long time. So, too, had his partner, who at the time of his death was three days >> WorkSIGHT WINTER 2015 | 9
Rescuing first responders from PTSD >> continued Teaming up — Weller, pictured in the middle, developed strong relationships with WCB case manager Cherie Leeb and Millard Health occupational therapist Jarett Stastny. away from a scheduled appointment with a psychologist. Despite their closeness both on and off the job, neither Weller nor Turner had ever spoken about it to the other. “That’s just the way it is with paramedics,” shrugs Weller. “We mask things. We don’t like to show signs of weakness, especially to our peers, so we don’t talk about it.” Turner’s on-the-job suicide changed all that. It accelerated the movement aimed at removing the stigma surrounding PTSD. A catalyst for change “There’s no question Greg’s suicide shone a giant spotlight on everything,” says Cherie Leeb, Weller’s case manager at WCB. “His death has been a catalyst for change.” Member suicide is also what prompted change at police departments in Calgary and Edmonton. Both cities now have reintegration teams tasked with facilitating a safe return to work for members diagnosed with psychological injuries, mental illness or PTSD. Powerful partnership Last summer, Leeb, whose caseload routinely includes first responders, met Sgt. Glen Klose, the head of Edmonton Police Services’ reintegration team, while she was working with two of his officers. It didn’t take her long to see an opportunity for a powerful partnership. “I was just blown away by the amount of success EPS was having,” says Leeb. “Everything we needed to help our Alberta Health Services’ first 10 | WorkSIGHT WINTER 2015
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PTSD

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