Ceremony completes St. Anthony firefighter's COVID comeback

Thursday's swearing-in as a St. Anthony firefighter was mere ceremony for Michael Culhane, who traded in the yellow helmet of a rookie for a black one weeks ago and was providing emergency care to a stroke patient just last week.

That didn't make the moment any less special — either for Culhane or those who supported his two-year comeback from severe COVID-19. Nobody was sure if he would survive, much less regain lost mobility after COVID left him hospitalized and tethered to a heart-lung bypass machine for 37 days to keep his blood pumping.

St. Anthony Fire Chief Mark Sitarz commended Culhane's "drive and perseverance," recalling how he donned full gear and walked up and down training facility stairs to regain strength.

"Your story is one for the books," he told Culhane at the ceremony. "You told me firsthand you were going to come back to get this badge."

Culhane remembered to bring his badge so that it could be formally pinned to his shirt. The 49-year-old father of four was at least 10 years older than four other colleagues being sworn in. His late-in-life dream of becoming a firefighter took on added importance after COVID, he said, giving him the inspiration he needed to move his legs again, then take steps, then walk up stairs.

Culhane said he still has some nerve pain in his toes and a little less lung capacity. It can be difficult to separate the lingering impact of COVID from normal aging.

"If I pick up a little bit of a cold or a little congestion, it seems to affect me a little bit more and it seems to hang on," he said.

Culhane hopes his recovery can offer hope to others. The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is no longer a pandemic-level threat, but it still left 268 people hospitalized in Minnesota on Tuesday, according to the most recent state pandemic data.

Federal surveys also indicate that 16% of Minnesota adults have experienced long COVID, lingering symptoms long after their initial infections have cleared. Almost 5% reported active long-COVID symptoms in the most recent survey window, Sept. 20 through Oct. 2.

A final hurdle in Culhane's journey had been the Fire Department's fitness test — an elaborate obstacle course that had him dragging a 200-pound dummy, lifting hoses, carrying ladders and racing across the fire station. He passed it in July.

"It was my Mount Everest," he said.

Culhane will serve as an on-call firefighter and emergency medical technician, maintaining his primary work as an insurance agent.

A full-circle moment came last week when Culhane was part of an ambulance crew that brought a suspected stroke patient to HCMC in Minneapolis. Culhane had been taken there in August 2021 before being placed on heart-lung bypass — which at the time meant a 50-50 chance of survival.

The crew was preparing to drive the woman to an elder-care facility when her oxygen levels plummeted and her face turned blue. Culhane leapt into the ambulance to help paramedics get her stabilized on the way to the ER.