The Firefighter Deconstructed

This is truly a special 2 part episode with former EMT and then emergency room nurse then emergency room director Teri DeLaMontanya. Teri grew up in turmoil and trauma and learned to “make the most of it” in order to survive. Never allowing herself to feel pain or anger, Teri went through life just constantly moving forward and keeping that happy smile on her face - that is until the rug was pulled out in front of her. In this part 1 “Survival Skills,” Teri shares her childhood and adulthood story and how she developed the skills to survive.

Behavioral Fitness
Christy Warren

James Beal is a paramedic for the Nashville Fire Department. Not only is he being incredibly brave by telling us his story, but he’s talking about it on a podcast — when one of his greatest vulnerabilities has been talking. He grew up with a stutter and childhood trauma. James tells his story with raw authenticity and has something everyone can learn from. You don't want to miss this one.

Lawerence Williams is a 21 year veteran with the Nashville Fire Department. He is as tough as they come. Lawerence struggled with alcohol and PTSD symptoms until he finally went to the IAFF PTSD recovery/rehab center. While there he thought the whole thing was "stupid" and planned on coming home. His wife told him either stay there and get better or don't bother coming home." He stuck it out and 30+ days later he left the Standard of Excellence center a man well on his way to recovery. Like so many of us, the shame and stigma kept him from accepting what was happening to him until he was about to lose everything.

Audra and Chelsi are two firefighter's wives and work-from-home mothers, with a combined 20+ years of experience as first responder spouses. They host a no-BS podcast, on a mission to break the stigma of mental health in first responders while amplifying the voices of their significant others. Together, they smash the negative feelings that come along with being a first responder family, replacing them with positive thoughts and compassionate curiosity. Tune into Dear Chiefs Podcast weekly for candid conversations with mental health experts and advocates and a first-hand look into fire family life with Audra + Chelsi.
email: [email protected]
website: http://www.dearchiefs.com
instagram: www.instagram.com/dearchiefspodcast
facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/dearchiefspodcast
facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dearchiefspodcast/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dearchiefspodcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DearChiefs

Retired firefighter and military guy Jim Madison is on the show. He is the epitome of resilience. That saying, it’s not how many times you fall down, but how many times you get up. Jim has had to get up off the floor MANY times. He has suffered multiple injuries on the job and has ended up in a wheelchair. That hasn’t stopped him. He races hand cycles and is going to compete in the Los Angeles marathon March 19th. This guy shows that as long as you don't give up you can keep living life and be happy.
https://www.instagram.com/jim.madison.handcycle/
https://www.gofundme.com/f/disabled-veteran-handcycle-racer
[email protected]
https://www.facebook.com/notlate.forsupper

Keith joins the podcast and shares how his life fell apart and after a diagnosis of Complex PTSI, he put it back together. His road to recovery included 6 suicide attempts. He shares incredible insight into what drives some to suicide.
Keith Hanks is a retired Firefighter and EMT that dedicated 21 years of his life to the service of others. He serviced his community as a training officer, certified educator, and field training officer. Keith worked both inner-city EMS as well as fire. Like many in the first responder community the job has its cost. From childhood trauma, traumatic calls, the traumatic passing of his first wife and sexual abuse Keith has faced many trials and tragedies that resulted in self-harm, substance abuse, lies and multiple suicide attempts. After decades of damage Keith began to put the pieces of his life back together.
Keith was diagnosed with Complex PTSI in 2015. The job, the service, his dedication caused this injury, and consequently his retirement. What PTSI didn’t change was the love and devotion to his community and to his fellow first responders. Keith has since dedicated his life to advocating for mental illness, substance and alcohol abuse recovery, and suicide awareness.

I had the honor of being a guest on the incredible podcast, A Slight Change of Plans hosted by cognitive scientist Maya Shanker. Apple named A Slight Change of Plans the best podcast of 2021 and it has over 10 million downloads and Dr. Shanker took the time to interview a retired firefighter/paramedic amongst all the celebrities and well known people she usually interviews. Her podcasts are nothing short of amazing. She puts an incredible amount of work into each one and nails the stories right on the head. I loved my time talking with her and she got my story exactly right. I hope you don't miss this one. You can find A Slight Change of Plans anywhere you get your podcasts.

Slight Change of Plans Podcast
https://www.instagram.com/drmayashankar/
christyewarren.com

This is the second time Tyler sat down to talk about his journey with PTSD. The first episode he talked about his critical incident that sent him down the PTSD rabbit hole. This time he comes back on to talk about the next phase: retiring from his passion, his identity and having to find a new life. His insightful, articulate and an all around awesome guy.

Ret. Paramedic Cheri Garcia sits down with the Firefighter Deconstructed after a short winder break. Cheri talks about realizing she couldn't do the job anymore without it further ruining her life and who she was. She had to reinvent herself and who she is - and she did with with grace and perserverence. Giving back and helping to save us is what she aims to do.

Michael Loew was a Firefighter and Paramedic for almost 30 years. He cruised along pretty well until he was caught in the middle of the Carr Fire. The Carr fire, burned 229,651 acres of the Shasta and Trinity counties, burned down over a thousand homes and killed 3 firefighters and 5 civilians. Michael talks about his experience at the fire and the effects the danger and devastation caused for him.
This will be the last episode until January of 2023. Christy is taking some time off to regroup and get the show running on full instead of near empty. I hope you will be back for next season and thank you for your time!