'He's my lifesaver'

By Carleigh Turner
Miami Journalism Student

In the Brock family, it is Ann who is the trained lifesaver.

Her husband, Frank, runs a truck brokerage office.

But after hearing a car slam into his wife's motorcycle , it was Frank who jumped off his motorcycle and ran to her aid. He immediately saw half of her left leg was missing. But, he didn't have time to be emotional. Instead, he knew he had to stop the bleeding and save his wife, who is a trained Monroe firefighter, nurse and paramedic.

“I didn’t even realize that it was Frank who applied [the tourniquet] till I was in the hospital,” Ann Brock said at the couple's Eaton home in early December. “I found out later that it was him.

"He’s my life saver.”

Looking for a positive

The Brocks, both avid motorcyclists, decided on the unseasonably warm Saturday afternoon in late October to take a ride with their 14-year-old son to grab some lunch in Hamilton.

The leaves were changing, the wind was warm and their bellies were full as the husband and wife drove through Oxford on their way back home. Frank Brock, as he routinely did, was in the lead with their son on the back of his motorcycle. Ann followed on her Honda she had gotten in October of last year.

Ann doesn't remember exactly what happened as she drove down North College Ave.

But a car, driven by Miami student Kasey O’Brien, hit Ann Brock. O'Brien pled no contest at a court hearing Nov. 14 and was ticketed for failing to yield at stop sign and for driving with an obstructed view. She was fined $40 on each citation.

"Most of all I want to ensure Ann is healthy and her rehabilitation is going well," O'Brien said. "As horrible as this situation has been, I am trying to look for a positive takeaway."

During Miami's J-term she will be focusing her efforts on proposing a stop sign at the intersection where the accident occurred.

"A lot of students have concerns regarding the two way intersections around campus and I want to do everything in my power to ensure a situation similar to this in the future can be prevented," O'Brien said.

A tourniquet, a helmet and a friend

In order to save his wife, Frank made a tourniquet out of his leather belt and applied it to his wife's leg before emergency workers arrived at the scene. He said he's not sure how he knew what to do that afternoon, but said a little medical know-how must have rubbed off on him in his 18 years of hanging around firefighters and paramedics.

Brian Oliver, a Middletown Fireman and former colleague of Ann’s was one of first paramedics who responded to the accident.

“I looked up and I said ‘Brian?'" Ann Brock recalled.

"He said ‘Annie?’

"It just kind of calmed me down that much more knowing I’m in good hands,” she said. “Brian’s one of the best, he really is.”

While her injuries were severe, her husband said if not for her helmet her injuries would likely have proved fatal.

He picked up the helmet and pointed to two scrapes: One on the side and a smaller one in the front and center.

“This is the spot that concerned me,” he said, pointing to the scrap in the front.

“Let’s just say, if she wasn’t wearing a helmet," he continued, "you guys would not be doing an interview right now.”

Long Road to Recovery

After the accident, Ann Brock spent one week at the University of Cincinnati Hospital Medical Center, and another week at Atrium Hospital, in Middletown -- where she also works -- to begin her long road to rehabilitation.

She has had two physical therapy appointments since leaving the hospital, with the focus being on getting her ready for a prosthetic leg. This entails focusing on leg exercises, strengthening her core as well as strengthening her right leg. Her insurance will cover six more appointments, and her leg was fitted for the prosthetic Dec. 5.

She should receive her mechanical knee by the end of the year.

“[The rehab has been hard], but when you put it in perspective, it’s like, you have to just kind of keep moving on; just keep doing it,” she said.

The hardest part for the independent woman has been the need to rely on others.

“If I had a place to go it would be just get in my car and go,” said Brock, 51. “I’m so glad that we have this support, but I’m just not the type of person to ask for help.

To cope with still having sensation in her injured leg, Ann Brock has measures in place to remind herself that it is not there anymore.

It remains hard, both mentally and physically, for her as well to remember her leg from the knee down is missing. She sometimes will have feeling in her missing leg, which is common and known as phantom limb sensations.

“We keep the walker by the bed so that reminds me, oh yeah I don’t have my leg,” she said.

The walker also helps her, in case she needs to get up in the middle of the night. However, this has been an adjustment for Ann Brock as well.

“You get up in the middle of the night and you’re having to go to bathroom and you’re half asleep and by the time I get up, get to the bathroom and get back I’m wide awake,” she said.

"I wish I had both my legs and I could just get up,'' she said. "It’s little things like that,that are just kind of different.”

A Career of Helping Others

Ann Brock, has worked for the Monroe Fire Department for 23 years and is third on their seniority list.

Monroe Fire Chief John Centers has worked with Ann on his platoon occasionally and crossed paths with her many times after working at the fire department for 27 years.

"Ann just has this great demeanor with the patients... she delivers a very calming presence with these people and that’s always helpful when you're dealing with emergencies," Centers said. "You have someone to keep things calm and non chaotic and do the work that needs to be done very, very well."

When she was younger, she said she was inspired to be a paramedic by watching “Emergency!” a 70’s television show that depicted the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Paramedical Rescue Service.

However, her mother who was also a registered nurse, pushed Ann Brock to follow in her footsteps. She graduated from Mount St. Joseph University in 1987, then went on to get her paramedic license and her fire certification in 1992.

She loves that her job, she said, because it allows her to help people and often save their lives.

“It’s been a hell of a ride and I’ve loved every minute of it,” she said, smiling and laughing wearing an Indiana Fire Department shirt.

Put on Hold

Before the accident, Ann Brock had planned on starting a new chapter in her career. The state of Ohio had begun community paramedicine and she was planning to start that in January. This program would have allowed her to function in a nonemergency role in her community. However, those plans have been put on hold.

“This has kind of put me back a little bit and, I’m not really sure if I’m going to medically retire or exactly what my plans are right now in this point in time,” she said.

The Brocks were also in the midst of moving from their old home, however this has been put on hold as well. The family broke ground on a new home a year before the accident and moved in on Sept. 12, 2016.

A Community Comes Together

Day in and day out, the 33 Monroe firefighters help complete strangers. These days, though, they are also helping one of their own.

The Monroe County Fire Department hosted their second annual Fire & Spice Chili Cook off on Nov. 27 and earmarked the proceeds to help Ann pay her bills. The event raised $1,000 dollars.

“There were so many people there that came out to support me, it was a great success,” Ann Brock said. “And the Monroe firefighters came away with the winner of the chili cook-off for the second year in a row!”

Her firefighter colleagues have been helping her get to her appointments, they built a ramp outside the Brock’s home and plan on putting rails on the ramp soon.

Her firefighter family has been an incredible support, she said.

“You never know the people that you touch and it’s just been ... I just can’t. I don’t even know how I could even begin to thank everybody for the prayers and the support,” she said.

“It's just been fantastic.”