Being a firefighter and EMT is a tough job that calls for perfect communication skills. That's why Kirby firefighter Konstance Garner said people underestimate her.
– Being a firefighter and EMT is a tough job that calls for perfect communication skills. That’s why a Kirby firefighter says people underestimate her and her extreme hearing loss.“There was something about wanting to have that challenge,” Konstance Garner said.“Being born with a cleft lip and palate and then, having to do 12 years of speech therapy and then over 20 surgeries I had to overcome,” Garner said.Garner has profound hearing loss in her left ear and severe hearing loss in her right.
“There’s a purpose for everyone. So I just wanted to keep going and know that you can’t break me,” she said.Garner also uses a different helmet, called a European helmet, that offers more room for her cochlear implant.Konstance is a respected and crucial part of the team as both a firefighter and EMT.For her success, she humbly credits technology, showing off a stethoscope created for the deaf or hard of hearing.
“Make sure I turn it on,” she explained, holding the electronic stethoscope. “Then I have my phone connected to my Baha. It’s the Cochlear app, and I can change the channels. For example, I have a channel on here for when I’m outside. It will drown out sounds from the road right there, so I can talk to you and hear you more clearly. With the stethoscope, I’m putting on channel 5. That connects it. First, I hear some beeps, and now I can hear it.
She’s not done yet. She now plans to get her advanced EMT certificate this year and her Class B license so she can start driving the fire engines.Copyright 2023 by KSAT - All rights reserved.Courtney Friedman is a KSAT anchor and reporter. She has an ongoing series called Loving in Fear, confronting Bexar County’s domestic violence epidemic. She's also covered Hurricane Harvey, the shootings in Sutherland Springs and Santa Fe, and tornadoes throughout Texas.
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