Coming to terms with retiring from the job you love can be incredibly difficult for many – but when it happens years earlier than you planned due to medical reasons, it can be even harder to accept.
Chris Lock says reaching out for our support when that happened to him was the first step in him moving forwards, both physically and mentally.
Chris, who was a firefighter with Avon FRS until his medical retirement in 2005, now wants to share his experiences in the hopes it’ll inspire someone else to ask for our help in the future.
“I’ve had two major bouts of ill health and both times I’ve had much help and support from The Fire Fighters Charity – then the Benevolent Fund,” says Chris.
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“The first time I was 31 and I contracted meningitis and encephalitis. It was when I was a firefighter at Bristol Temple Back Fire Station. I lost the ability to walk and talk, I was in intensive care for two weeks and off work for six months. My family were originally told I’d had a stroke, it was only after tests that they got to the bottom of it.
“I got in touch with the Charity and was offered some time at Harcombe House as a break to rest and recover – a really fantastic recuperative stay and it did me the world of good.”
Chris went on to recover well, however, he sadly sustained life-changing injuries while on duty in 2002 some years later, which led to him having to medically retire from the fire service at the age of 47 in 2005.
“The Fire Fighters Charity stepped in and offered me both rehabilitation and convalescence at both Marine Court and Harcombe House in the coming years,” says Chris.
“Without doubt the help, care and assistance I received allowed me to move on with my life. Despite still receiving ongoing physiotherapy and pain relief medication, I am doing well. I still carry those injuries to this day, but without the care, assistance and guidance received from The Fire Fighters Charity, I am convinced my physical life story would have come to conclusion in 2005.
“That second time, the Charity helped me get a lot of movement back in my neck which I’d lost in the incident. It’s not forgotten.”
It wasn’t just Chris who benefitted from support following his retirement, his wife did too.
“It wasn’t easy for my wife during my dark moments,” he says. “She was offered psychological support and she came out a different person.”
Chris says, having seen the difference our support could make first time round, he wanted to give something back.
“After my first bout of ill health, I managed to mobilise my Watch and over five years we raised over £30,000,” he adds. “We had a six-seat bicycle and would ride it round the area on weekends to raise money for The Fire Fighters Charity and another of our choice.
“If that money gives back the same amount of help that I received, I’m happy with that”
Chris Lock
“That money that we raised, if it gives back the same amount of help or more that the Charity was able to give to me when I really did need it, I’m happy with that. That would make my day. It’s the least I could do.”
Chris was awarded the British Empire Medal this year in the King’s New year’s Honours list, following years of Tank Corps commemorative service in Belgium, after he finished his firefighting career.
He previously served in the Junior Leaders Regiment Royal Armoured Corps and then the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment as a Chieftain Main Battle Gunner/Driver from 1974-1979. He went on to create the Tank Memorial Ypres Salient (TMYS) and the accompanying ‘Tank Corps Garden of Remembrance Belgium’, a major war memorial to commemorate those lost from his Regiment during the war.
If you feel you’d benefit from mental health support, we may be able to help you. Call our Support Line on 0800 389 8820, make an enquiry online or register for MyFFC now and visit the ‘Access Support’ tab at the top of the MyFFC homepage.
You can also join our ‘Share Your Story’ Group in MyFFC, by clicking on the ‘Groups’ tab, to chat to others who have received our support or enquire about sharing your own story.