By EMS1 Staff
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A former paramedic is trying to get back on his feet after suffering PTSD and being unable to work as a first responder.
KOB4 reported that in 2011, Craig Koppenhaver was working as a paramedic and responded to a horrific call about a baby who had been abused to death.
“I was living a horror movie and there was nothing that could be done,” Koppenhaver said.
Eventually, the PTSD he suffered from the incident made him unable to work as a paramedic, and he began to struggle financially.
Now, a series of incidents has the city threatening to deem his home “substandard” due to electricity issues, and Koppenhaver could soon be homeless. His friends are rallying behind him to make sure that doesn’t happen.
“He has nowhere else to go,” Koppenhaver’s friend, Mychal Gurule, said, who created a GoFundMe to raise money for him. “I really want to create that sense of urgency and let people know that the help is so, so needed right now, and it’s going to be received with the utmost gratitude.”
Koppenhaver’s former colleague, Tiffany Grider, has also stepped up to help fix his home.
“I have the contractors set up and ready to roll. We just have to be able to afford them and get that process going,” Grider said.
Koppenhaver said he wants to use his situation to raise awareness about PTSD.
“Anybody that can get help before it falls apart, then maybe it was a little bit worth it,” he said.
https://www.facebook.com/craig.koppenhaver.9/posts/1912814388746623