Feb. 13, 2023 Kirby Firefighter/EMT Konstance Garner wears a different helmet that provides more room for her Cochlear implant.
Source Firehouse.com News
State-of-the-art technology is allowing a Kirby woman make her dream of being a firefighter and EMT a reality.
Konstance Garner, born with a cleft palate that required 20 surgeries and severe hearing loss, wasn’t going to let in prevent her from doing what she’s always wanted, KSAT reported.
“Going into the house fires and things like that, you’re hearing crucial because sometimes you cannot see. So you have to rely on your hearing,” Garner explained adding that she got a Cochlear implant that connects to the bone outside the ear.
“It is just like beauty, you know? You put it on, and it’s like life,” Garner said adding that she can hear 100 percent thanks to the device.
“Being the smallest and only female, they underestimated me,” she said speaking about her academy days.
She put in hours of extra training each day and ended up winning the prestigious Top Rung award for being top of her class.
“There’s a purpose for everyone. So I just wanted to keep going and know that you can’t break me,” she said.
Garner wears a European helmet that offers more room for her Cochlear implant.
“You’re automatically looked at differently, and people judge you right off the bat. So you have to have that backbone. Put your foot down, speak up, stand up for yourself.”
She’s ready for the next step — obtaining her advanced EMT certificate her Class B license so she can start driving the fire engines.
After that, she wants to get a master’s degree, make fire captain, and someday, become fire chief.