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Amputee Reaches Goal, Becomes Police Officer
By Miki Fairley After massive flooding from a rain-swollen river, half the
town of South River, New Jersey, was evacuated. A disabled elderly
man was trapped in a house which nobody could reach. Finally,
rescuers got the idea of running a front-end loader through the
water. Jumping from the bucket through a second-story window, a
search-and-rescue team member was able to bring the man to safety.
He later received an award for action above and beyond the call of
duty.
.jpg) The rescuer, a police officer and paramedic, is a
remarkable guy who embodies the adage, "Where there's a will,
there's a way." Born with a congenital limb difference leading to a
transtibial amputation, Mike Gorman, East Windsor, New Jersey, has
had a lifelong dream of becoming a police officer. On the way to
his dream, Mike has been a firefighter, paramedic, and truck
driver.
At the age of 15, Mike entered the cadet program for the
Middlesex county volunteer fire department, which mostly involved
becoming familiar with firefighting apparatus. When he was 17, he
also became an emergency medical technician (EMT).
Mike has a flair for dispatching and manning radio
communications; he became the "radio man" during fires, helping to
coordinate efforts on the scene. However, he was expelled from high
school just six days before graduation because school officials
said he spent too much time answering fire and rescue calls. That
didn't stop Mikehe went on to acquire a GED.
When he turned 18 and wanted to train as a firefighter, he was
turned down because of safety issues with his prosthetic limb. So
the next time he applied, he simply didn't mention the limb. After
180 hours of strenuous training, including lifting, moving, and
carrying heavy weights up and down ladders and fighting live fires,
Mike passed the Firefighter Academy course.
He didn't reveal he was an amputee until the day of graduation.
During a drill where his partner needed to hold onto Mike's leg, he
loosened his prosthetic foot so that it came off in his partner's
hand. He was allowed to graduate anyway.
Mike did get into police work as a dispatcher, but after nine
years, he was at the top of his salary range. He had just gotten
married, and as he says, "There was just no way I could support a
family on that salary." He decided to become a truck driver, but
had to fight regulations that drivers had to have all their limbs.
After finally winning that struggle, he passed driver school and
drove a tractor-trailer rig for about a year.
But his dream to become a police officer didn't leave him, and
friends helped keep it alive. A friend who was a police officer at
Kean University, Union, told him that, since he had a background in
communications, he could become a police dispatcher there for four
to six months. Then, if the chief decided he had potential, he
could attend the police academy. Mike did have the "right stuff"
and so began his training.
But then an old obstacle jumped in his way. His knee tended to
dislocate easily, and shortly after he started his academy
training, the entire knee dislocated. Doctors said he would have to
be off four to six weeks. Mike didn't accept that, so they popped
the knee back in place and gave him some strong medications. After
one day off, he was back in training, including seven-mile runs,
high-speed sprints, and agility and obstacle courses. He achieved a
95-percent average and won an academic award, graduating fourth in
a class of 35.
What about that knee? Mike considered surgery, but doctors told
him he would be unable to wear a prosthesis for over a year and
said he would only get about 70-80 percent of his knee function.
Mike decided on weightlifting and other types of strength training
to help stabilize the knee instead. So far, his efforts have been
successful.
Mike now works "on the street" at Kean University and he also
serves part-time in EMS for Woodbridge Township. At the ripe old
age of 30, Mike has achieved much of his dream, although in the
future he would like to work for a city police department. In the
course of his police, firefighting, and EMT work, Mikein addition
to other dramatic experienceshas delivered three babies. And he and
his wife Allison have just recently welcomed their own first baby,
Vanessa Ann, into their family.
Besides his own determination, Mike also credits the Springlite
Advantage DP high-performance prosthetic foot for his success. He
also highly praises the skill of Mort Levy, CP, Orthotic &
Prosthetic Center, Toms River, who has been his prosthetist for 25
years. 
Table Of Contents - February 2003
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