An Orange County firefighter who suffered a spinal cord injury in a September highway rollover crash was released from a rehabilitation facility in Colorado on Friday.
Firefighter Andrew Brown feared he would be paralyzed after his crew’s truck crashed while returning from a wildfire, but he was able to survive in Santa Ana with applause and cheers from his family and fellow firefighters. I got off the plane at John Wayne Airport.
After nearly two months of treatment at Craig Hospital in Inglewood, Colorado, which specializes in treating brain and spine disorders, Brown said, “I was very worried about whether I would ever be able to walk or move my arms again.” he told KTLA-TV. injury.
Orange County firefighter Andrew Brown returned home after spending about two months relearning how to use his arms and legs. Brown was one of eight OCFA paramedics hospitalized on Sept. 19 when their fire truck overturned while returning home from battling an airport fire. “I thought I was going to die in the ambulance,” Brown said.
(KTLA-TV)
Brown was one of eight members of Orange County Fire Department Santiago injured in the Sept. 18 crash on State Route 241 in Irvine. The firefighters were on their way home from extinguishing an airport fire. The Airport Fire was a large-scale fire that started in Trabuco Canyon and burned thousands of acres in Orange and Riverside.
Brown’s release leaves only one firefighter at the medical facility. The man, whose family has asked that his identity not be made public, is also being treated at Craig Hospital.
A ladder that fell from another vehicle triggered the accident. The fire engine driver swerved around the ladder, resulting in the fire engine colliding with a guardrail and overturning.
Brown told KTLA that he had no recollection of the events between the time the truck started tilting and the time he was ejected and seriously injured.
“I thought I was going to die in the ambulance,” he told the station. “I was scared. I was just praying that God would protect my pregnant wife. That was my biggest worry.” That was all I could think about during the ambulance ride. ”
He was told that he was expected to be bedridden for several months in the intensive care unit. But by early October, doctors decided he was strong enough to go on a stretcher to Colorado for rehabilitation. A squad of firefighters escorted him to the airport.
In Colorado, I had to relearn how to use my arms and legs. He said it was difficult, but he was highly motivated.
“I just want to support my wife and someday hold my daughter and play with her and throw her in the air,” he told KTLA.
