Bills would aid first responders who have PTSD

Gerry Realin can’t watch much TV.

The Orlando police officer sticks to mostly cartoons with his kids and fishing shows. He doesn’t want to watch anything that may trigger memories of removing the bodies inside Pulse nightclub. He’s been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder and has been out of work since shortly after the June 12 massacre that killed 49 people and injured at least 68 others.

While the department is paying Realin’s full salary, it does not have to because the current law says any worker’s compensation for PTSD must be accompanied by a physical injury, which Realin does not have.

But billls proposed in the state Legislature this year would change that. One proposal, SB 1088, would allow first responders suffering from PTSD to receive full worker’s comp benefits for as long as they need it.

Realin, 37, and his wife, Jessica, have been advocates for the change in the law as he battles the disorder. Realin, who was on the team that had to remove the bodies from Pulse, has good days and bad ones.

“My mind races with thoughts and it’s exhausting,” he said. “It’s so easy to go to a negative place. The slightest thing makes me upset. I’m paranoid. I don’t trust anyone. I’ve cut off a lot of friends.”

Florida would become the sixth state to give first responders full workers comp benefits. Some estimates say there are 100,000 officers nationwide suffering from PTSD.

Workers compensation is paid by the employer.

“I think that the least we can do for those who put their lives on the line every day is to make sure they have the ability to receive treatment for their needs and provide for them and their families while they are recovering,” said one bill’s sponsor, Sen. Victor Torres, D-Orlando, who retired as a detective after 20 years with the New York City Transit Police Department.

Torres investigated people who jumped or were pushed to their deaths on the subway, so he’s seen his share of horrific things.

He doesn’t buy the argument that says officers and firefighters know what they are signing up for when they take on the job. Cops often deal with tough situations and anyone from a rookie to a 20-year veteran can suffer from PTSD.