GLENDALE, AZ — An everyday moment of getting into a patrol car represents a milestone years in the making for Glendale Police Lieutenant Wade Kamman, who has returned to full-time duty after overcoming serious mental health challenges and life-threatening medical conditions.
"It feels amazing," Kamman said. "It's like I've gotten a new lease on life."
Kamman's journey began more than two years ago when the trauma of serious child abuse cases took a significant mental and physical toll on him.
"I was dealing with PTSD and depression," Kamman said.
His life changed forever during a motorcycle training exercise while preparing to join the traffic unit.
"It sling-shotted me off of the high side, which is the right side of the bike," Kamman said.
Dr. Anup Shah, an orthopedic surgeon at Banner University Medical Center, treated Kamman's initial injuries.
"An ACL tear with a lateral bucket meniscus tear. His knee was locked; he couldn't walk," Shah said.
While at Banner University Hospital, after surgery to repair his leg, doctors discovered even more dangerous, life-threatening conditions hiding beneath the surface: multiple blood clots, pulmonary embolisms and a heart defect Kamman didn't know he had.
"They were able to remove all these clots and really probably save his life, but it was the recognition and the combination of that skillset by the vascular surgeons to get this taken care of," Shah said.
Any of these conditions could have ended Kamman's career permanently. Instead, they became his motivation for a new life.
"You can choose to let it affect your life negatively and just focus on the bad, or you can choose the path where it can be one of the best things that ever happened in your life," Kamman said.
Kamman spent years healing not just his leg, but his entire body and mind.
"I went from 440 or so pounds. I am now about 220 pounds. I literally cut myself in half," Kamman said. "When I finally understood the importance of that mental health piece, like therapy and being able to talk about it with my peers and my family and being able to really seek that help, is when I really was able to get to a happier place.”
Kamman now leads the same traffic unit that almost ended his career just a couple of years ago.
“If I can do it and I can overcome my struggles, anybody can. It just takes that first step along that journey to really break through and become better," Kamman said.
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