Positive Attitude Helps Oklahoma Firefighter Return To Work

ROBERT MEDLEY
The Oklahoman

Ten months after falling through a metal awning while hanging Christmas lights, firefighter Kent Collins is expected to return to work and to the colleagues who helped him.

The 17-year firefighting veteran was standing on a rusty sheet metal awning over the driveway of Real Church, 11911 N Pennsylvania Ave. on Dec. 4 hanging holiday lights when the metal gave way and he fell about 20 feet to the pavement. His pelvis was crushed, and he broke his lower back and seven ribs. The fall punctured a lung and his spleen. His left elbow was shattered, his wrist and upper left arm broken. Keri Collins said she didn't expect her husband to recover so quickly. For a while he lived in the downstairs of his two-story home near Lake Hefner.

"It's pretty miraculous to me that he has been up and around as quickly as he has," she said. "There certainly have been a whole lot of people praying for him, and you can't overlook the power of positive thinking."

Collins, 43, not only is walking now, but he also can run and even kick around a soccer ball. He's been practicing and plans to join a new soccer team soon. He says he doesn't have the strength he once did, especially in his left arm.

On Thursday, he's expected to be cleared by doctors to return to duty. He's already dusted off his firefighting helmet and made sure his protective gear still fits. "I'm pretty happy going back and being around the firefighters again," Collins said. "It's a part of my life I've missed."

Not that they've been far away. Firefighters have helped him and his family. They even bought Christmas presents for his sons, Jack, 4, and Ethan, 8. Firefighters who went to the accident scene weren't sure he'd survive the fall, let alone return to work, Collins said.

Through the months they helped his family with chores and took him to a YMCA and the fire station for showers when he was in a wheelchair and couldn't get to his upstairs bathroom. Deputy Chief Cecil Clay said a report on Collins' progress will be reviewed by a doctor before Collins is reassigned Thursday.

Dr. Zachary Roberts, an orthopedic trauma specialist, said he expects Collins to be able to work as a firefighter again. Collins' recovery has happened so quickly because of his outlook, the doctor said. He credited the trauma care doctors with setting the foundation for a successful recovery.

"I think his attitude has been the biggest factor in this whole process," Roberts said. "He's been very positive. I see a lot of people who have been hurt bad. How people process changes in their lives makes a difference."

Collins will have some limitations, especially in his left arm, he said.