As you may know I am a strong advocate of the organization supporting fire fighter health. In order to establish confidence in the medical support system, fire fighters must have total confidence that their personal medical situation is confidential. I do not take the decision to share my medical information with you lightly. But I feel it’s important that I share some personal health information with you.
I have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Parkinson is not fatal, but currently it is a non-curable, degenerative, and a debilitating disease. It generally doesn’t affect critical thinking and normally advances slowly.
You may know this as the disease that Michael J. Fox, Pope John Paul, Janet Reno and Mohamed Ali have. It is difficult to diagnose because there aren’t specific tests for Parkinson’s and each person is affected differently.
Currently my symptoms are a soft, raspy voice, some balance issues, some tremors in my hands and face, and a lack of facial expression. Symptoms are controlled to some degree by medication although there can be fluctuations during the day. My soft voice is the most frustrating. In the past I had a strong voice and rarely used a microphone.
But I still wake up every morning ready to get at the days activities. As the chief executive officer of the Charleston Fire Department, my responsibility is not fighting fires but fighting, cheerleading, and facilitating for you folks on the street.
My career plan is to continue to implement our CFD vision. We have made a great deal of progress but there is plenty left to do. We have established a great leadership team which is very effective.
I also want to help other fire fighters understand Parkinson’s, its risk and how your environmental exposure as a fire fighter increases your risk of having PD. There is a study that states in the general population the probability of PD occurring is 3-4 out of 1,000 and for a fire fighter the risk increases to 30 per 1,000. It is thought that people develop PD either genetically or environmentally or a combination of both factors. I went though genetic testing to determine if my children were at risk. I do not have the genetic markers for PD. Given the genetic test results, I most likely developed PD as a result of environmental exposure, such as, chemicals released from normal room and contents fires as well as exposure to pesticides and other chemicals. We need to assure our fire fighters have the information they need to understand the risk and reduce exposure.
I have talked at length to my doctor at MUSC and have been evaluated at the Mayo Clinic. They believe, and I know, that I am able to continue fire chief executive duties. I don’t take this lightly, my responsibility is to support you. I take this commitment seriously and would do nothing to compromise you or the CFD. I plan to continue working for you as long as I am able. My doctors say that 5-10 years is a reasonable expectation.
I am totally committed to you and the CFD. In fact, you are the CFD and many of you have experienced devastating impacts on your family and on yourselves personally.
My initial diagnosis of PD felt devastating on my life but the opportunity it presents can’t be overlooked. I am committed to getting the word out about PD and the possible links to fire fighting.
Have no doubt that I will continue to lead the CFD on its current path.
Chief Tom Carr
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