Episode 154: Broken Things-Firefighter Injury and Recovery with Zig and AZ

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Zig Markowski is married to Jennifer, a line-of-duty disabled police officer. He is the father of Ziggy and Aubrey and stepdad to Anthony.

He joined the Navy at 17 and trained as an Aviation Electronics Technician in Millington, TN, followed by additional schooling at Cecil Field, FL. He was then stationed at NAS North Island in San Diego and deployed in 1998–99 with VS-29 on the USS Carl Vinson.

After leaving the Navy, Zig pursued a career in emergency services. He completed EMT-B school at the College of DuPage in 2000, followed by the fire academy and paramedic school at Christ Hospital in 2001. During this time, he worked at Lemont FPD before joining his current department on March 19, 2002. He was promoted to Lieutenant in November 2022.

Injury Resume

• 1999: Lower back sprain (per Navy medical records)

• 2006: Knee arthroscopy

• 2016: Neck injury in January, fusion surgery in August

• 2019: Left shoulder surgery in the fall

• 2020: Neck injury shortly after clearance from shoulder surgery, resulting in herniation above and below the fusion (approximately February)

• 2022: Second shoulder surgery in the summer after falling into a river during a class in April

• Countless other tweaks and strains

So What, Now What?!?

Injuries in the fire service aren’t inevitable, but they are likely. Staying fit and healthy reduces risk and potentially speeds up recovery and return to work. A strong mental outlook is crucial in the process, helping firefighters push through setbacks and come back stronger.

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