PT News: Physical Therapy Helps Firefighter Recover

Three times a week, Middletown firefighter Karl Gaston travels to northeast Cincinnati for more than two hours of grueling physical and massage therapy.

Gaston, 51, tore the quadriceps in both legs after tripping over an uncharged 4-inch fire hose and stumbling down a hill to his fire truck during the Aug. 8 structure fire at the Lone Star Steakhouse on Roosevelt Parkway.

The 250-pound firefighter — loaded with another 60 to 70 pounds of protective gear — rolled onto the street after his quads failed, and almost was hit by a passing car.

Gaston's doctor, Tim Kremcheck — the medical director for the Cincinnati Reds — said he'd never done two quadriceps before.

"But he also told my mom I was going to be fine," Gaston said. "He was also straight up when he said the easy part was the surgery but the hard part is going to be the therapy."

Nearly six months into the physical therapy, Gaston is driven to return to his job as a Middletown firefighter.

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