Enjoying Life On A Road Not Taken Alone
9/11 Responder With New Lung Buoyed By Kin
and FDNY Colleagues As He Leaves Hospital
Staten Island Advance 4/30/09
For
nearly 30 years,
Staten Island
Firefighter Martin
Fullam saved the
lives of uncounted
strangers.
Last month, a stranger responded in kind -- donating a lung that the retired FDNY lieutenant desperately needed to survive a rare disease he may have contracted while responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Fullam, 56, headed to his Annadale home yesterday with his wife and three daughters after successful transplant surgery and four weeks in a Manhattan hospital. Dozens of his FDNY brethren marked the occasion with a celebration at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia Medical Center in Washington Heights, with bagpipers and well-wishers lining the sidewalks.
Fullam, who could barely brush his teeth or put on his clothes without losing his breath because of his deadly illness, was just happy to be able to breathe on his own for the first time in 3 1/2 years.
"I really feel like the luckiest man in the world. I know it stinks to get sick, but I am enjoying one of the best parts of my life," he told the crowd of firefighters, medical staff and media inside the hospital.
Doctors say his recovery will still be difficult, but they are optimistic he can still lead a normal, healthy life. But Fullam wasn't looking that far ahead yesterday: "I'm just gonna go home and spend time with my wife and kids."
His elated wife, Patricia, said she was looking forward to his cooking.
"He's a better cook than I am," she said, tears welling in her eyes.
Lt. Fullam was off on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, but as soon as he heard the news, he drove to his home base, Ladder Co. 87 in Annadale, packed 10 firefighters into his pickup truck and sped to Rescue Co. 5 in Concord. He spent weeks sifting debris for survivors.
Most first responders who inhaled the toxic brew of dust, chemicals and fibers resulting from the massive combustion of the jet planes into the World Trade Center developed chronic coughs, sinus conditions and asthma, according to Dr. David Prezant, Chief Medical Officer at the FDNY's office of medical affairs.
In 2005, Fullam was diagnosed with polymyositis, a rare autoimmune disease that attacks the body's muscle tissues, and pulmonary fibrosis in his lungs. Only 1 of 100,000 people has polymyositis; six of about 8,000 first responders on Sept. 11 have been diagnosed with it.
Dr. Jessie Wilt, a pulmonologist at New York-Presbyterian who treated Fullam and two other firefighters who contracted the disease, said the findings were not "conclusive" and it could be decades before the full extent of 9/11-linked illnesses is known.
"But you can't ignore the numbers," she added.
Fullam, whose FDNY career began in 1981, was forced to go on medical leave soon after 9/11. Over the course of several years, the disease weakened his muscles and ravaged his lungs to the point that he could barely perform ordinary tasks. He became tired when he walked upstairs or tried to tie his shoes. By 2006, Fullam was tethered to an oxygen tank 24 hours a day. In May 2007, with his lungs at 30 percent capacity, he was told by doctors he would soon be dead if he did not receive a new lung.
A few weeks ago, he became one of the lucky ones. At any given time, there are about 100,000 people waiting for an organ or tissue donor and far fewer suitable donors, according to the New York Organ Donor Network.
Less common than kidney, liver or heart transplants, lung transplants are also more difficult and less successful over a long period of time, Dr. Wilt said. According to their own statistics, lung transplant recipients at New York-Presbyterian have a 90 percent survival rate in the first year, about 80 percent to three years, and 60 percent to five years.
Fullam's road to recovery will consist of a daily physical therapy regimen, weekly hospital visits and a cocktail of drugs to prevent his body from rejecting his new lung.
Yesterday, standing with dozens of his friends and loved ones, he appeared to be as ready as anyone could ever be to take on that challenge.
"I am just grateful for all the support of everyone in my life. This is not a road you take alone," he said.
Peter N. Spencer covers city government for the Advance. He may be reached at spencer@siadvance.com.
|
|
|
FDNY Major l FDNY Rescues l FDNY Brotherhood l FDNY Events l FDNY Profiles l FDNY Events |
