The Story of A First Responder with Sam van Born | 025

So I was away from the job for about nine months to work on,

my mental health, and, I did get

diagnosed with PTSD. So I was

working through that. And I think for me at the end of the

day, connecting with people and

knowing that I'm making a difference really adds to my

cup. So for myself with I I

guess the biggest thing I just think for

me is connection, putting really good things in my body, knowing

that, at the end of the day, I'm doing the best

that I can. And if I can help people along the way,

it it just it makes me happy. And and and part of the PTSD

is, for me, is being

busy. Welcome back to another episode

of Resilient AF with Blair and Alana. But today,

Alana is not here. It's me, Blair, with

Sam. I met Sam. I don't even know how I met her. I think we

were publishing a different book together. Or did I meet you through social

media? I don't really know, but I know that we had the honor of

sharing Sam Van Born's story in Resilient AF

Stories of Resilience that came out in March,

a event in Vancouver. And she is so inspirational,

and she's a true hero, like, true, true hero. She's a

24, first responder, and she's been the

captain for her last seven years. She enjoys helping

people Between working in the fire service and her side business in

the health and wellness field, she is busy. So today, we're gonna talk about what

her life was like working as a first responder and a firefighter during

the global pandemic, like, on the front lines.

And I am so honored to have you here today, Sam. Oh, thanks for

having me, Blair. I'm super excited. A little bit nervous, but, you know,

you you seem to make it easier to move through things,

so we'll see how it goes. We're just chatting. So

oh my gosh. First of all, that's a long time to be a

first responder. Like, I can't even imagine without the global pandemic,

all of the situations and challenges that you've

experienced firsthand. Why don't you tell us a bit about your journey as

a first responder and what it was like during

COVID? Sure. Okay. So

backing up from a really long time ago, I just knew that

I wanted to do something active. And I also knew that

I wanted to help people and just have

my day be different. You know? Like, sure.

We do do things that are similar every day. You know, routine is

is great. But I just knew in the

back of my mind being active and helping people.

And you know what? Having fun too was

kinda my mission in life. And I started out,

actually delivering auto parts. I had two two jobs, actually. I

delivered auto parts, and I worked at a movie theater behind the concession.

And I had a girlfriend of mine from high school. Her dad was a

captain in the fire service, and I chatted with him. And and being

out and about, you know, delivering parts during the day,

I actually delivered some of the fire halls. And so I got to talking to

the mechanics and a couple of the other people, and I just got introduced to

some really great people that helped kinda guide me

towards, you know, the ultimate career in the

fire service. And I moved out to Lions Bay. I was a volunteer out

there for about two years. And then I, I got

into firefighting school in Alberta. And I went out there

for I think it was eleven weeks,

and did my program out there and continued to volunteer.

And then I I had a couple of interviews. And

funny enough well, I don't know if it's funny.

Thinking back, I thought, oh, yeah. I'm so ready. I'm gonna get

hired. My first interview was such a flop. Like,

in in hindsight, I was like, I walked out and I was like, I did

good. No. I didn't. I did good. No. I didn't. And, you know, I obviously

didn't move forward in that process. But, actually, the second department that I,

applied to, I got hired, and it was local to me. So,

you know, it was my my hometown is

per se, you know, where I grew up, people that I knew. So that

made it even more special. So

yeah. I and, you know, there aren't very many of

us women in the fire service.

It's getting better, but I

have been the only one in my department. And I'm actually starting my

twenty fifth year, in January. So

Congratulations. And you're the only woman in your department?

As a firefighter. Yes. Yep. Wow.

Wow. And and let's talk about that. Like, what was it like being a

firefighter and a first responder in the community that you live?

Were you seeing people and familiar faces? And and what was that

like for you? Because that that just shows you a whole another

side of people. It does, and I think

it's twofold. One can be,

a bit too much, like, a a little bit to be too personal to me

because I do know the people. But I also think on the flip side is

that when you walk into somewhere where someone knows you,

they feel a little bit more at ease because you're there.

So I try and focus more on that side of things,

and also just being able to support the people that I that I know and

care about, you know, knowing some of the crappy things

that they potentially, you know, go through. Yeah. I

can't even I can't even imagine. I mean, the work that you

do, like, you are on the front line.

And, before the pandemic happened, which are

added a whole another layer, What were some of the things

as a first responder, as a firefighter that really shook

you to the core that you didn't really ex anticipate

on the job? So the first major

I was on the job for just over, almost almost

two years, and nine eleven happened. And I

remember walking to work in the morning,

and nobody knew. Nobody had any

clue. So I walked into the kitchen and

flicked on the TV, and we were all glued to it all day

long. And so that that was definitely one of

the first major events in my life that,

I guess, also helped shape my career. I I guess

I don't seems kinda strange, but, you know, traveling

to New York a few times, you know,

attending services. I met a couple of really great people that I still stay in

touch with today. Mhmm. You know, it's been decades,

after that happened. So, being able

to support my brothers and sisters in, you know,

on the other side of the world, really. So Yeah. It

was, it it was it was quite the experience for sure. And

then, I mean, gosh, there could there's there's so many different

incidences and events and, you know,

calls that we've been to that, you know, could

potentially really make an impact.

And I think, really, it's it's about how you you handle it, and it's

getting so much better. The mental health aspect

of, trauma and first responders and frontline workers

is it's getting so much better to

really just take a step back and say, you know what? I I need a

minute, or I need to take some time to just really focus on myself

and my mental health and my health and well-being. And

it's it's gotten so much better.

Yeah. No. Definitely. And I can't imagine, like, I mean, the fact that you're

able to support your brothers and sisters through nine eleven and,

you mean, going from delivering parts to, you know,

a firefighter. That's a big jump. And, you

know, with the pandemic, obviously, that

wasn't something, I guess, anyone really anticipated. And I'm

not sure what you do in firefighter school training to prepare for

something like that or even if you could because I felt like that was felt

like just a very wild time. But walk walk us

through what life was like as a firefighter

in the early days of the pandemic when the world shut down.

It was a shit show. Hey. Tell us

about it. Walk us through. It was

because nobody nobody could understand really what was

happening. You got so many different conflicting pieces of

information. It's like, maybe we were privy to a little bit different

information than the general public. So, you know, people

trying to put plans and, you

know, organize things and put them in place to protect us as first

responders, but also allow us to be able to go out and try and do

the best we could in in our job to to help

people. So it was extremely stressful.

I mean, it was it was it was crazy for the entire world.

Like, this is, you know, it's similar to nine eleven. This is something

that that affected the entire world.

So it was really trying to get the direction

of how we were gonna handle the things that that we were handling. You

know, calls were increasing. People were scared. They

were scared. And so what do they do? They they phone

someone for help, and there were

things that we just really couldn't help with. You know, you you try and put

people's mind at ease as best you can, but at the end of the

day, we can only do so much. And so there

were policies and procedures and plans in place for,

you know, extra protective equipment

or how we would do, like, respond to a call

and do almost like a triage of making

contact with people and finding out what their signs and symptoms are and what we

could do from a little bit more of a distance. Then there

was the the stress about getting proper protective

equipment. Like, it like, the toilet paper thing. Right? Not that

we need a toilet paper, but you know what I mean? Like, it just, like,

things just disappeared. The the gloves and the masks and the, you

know, people were devising, I think it was somewhere in the

state. Someone devised,

like, cleaning the masks so you could reuse them, the n

95 masks that everybody was scrambling to get. Yeah. That, you know,

as first first line workers, we we needed those things.

Yeah. Were you were you

were you being dispatched to

homes where there was, like, communal living? So,

like, assisted living communities, retirement homes,

to to help because I know that I remember seeing on the news

that in the with the vulnerable population, like those that are aging or that

were unwell, with the isolation that there was,

a lack of, like, extra support for them from, like, the

facilities they lived in and that there was a bit more casualties.

Basically, no. We we needed we needed

everybody and anybody to be able to respond from,

you know, our our station. So to diminish

our, staffing, basically, to to take us

out of commission to do something else, no. We

pretty much everybody just locked down. Yeah. You know, it

was it was everybody just kinda,

you know, shelter in place kinda thing that,

everybody was just trying to get through. So we, you know,

we had to devise things as a station. Like,

we used to work, two days and two nights

and then have four off. So the the the old saying of four on, four

off. And our shifts changed. We we went we went to twenty

four hour shifts to try and

minimize the cross contamination between the four shifts that would come in and out of

the hall. So, Wild. And it it's

it it worked at the time, and we're we're continuing to do it now. It

it just works better for our department.

Twenty four hour shifts. Oh my gosh. You have you sleep on those

shifts? If we're not busy, we we have time

to rest. Yeah. Oh my gosh, Sam. That's crazy.

I just, like, lost wouldn't it wouldn't have worked if my daughter was,

was younger. So No. Just No. It

wouldn't have worked. But yeah. And and you

also started a wellness company as a side business. Let's

talk about that. Why did you start it? What is it? How does it help

you in your stressful day job or twenty four hour

job? So I am a

brand partner with Bravely Global. It's a health and wellness

company. They are actually, in The States,

but we are in our phase one opening here in Canada, which is awesome.

They're naturopathically formulated products, and,

health and wellness, I feel, is my my jam.

Am I perfect at it? No. Is everybody a work in progress? Absolutely.

And I I think we just we learn and we grow when I mean, different

phases in life. You know? You've you've got, you know,

your early twenties where you just feel like you're invincible and when you get a

bit older and then maybe into the perimenopause or menopause,

you know, area of your life, which is where I am right now. So, you

know, just trying to support yourself the best you can with

really great, supportive products, whether

they're vitamins or, you know, supplements in some way.

And I've just the fact that it's, naturopathically

formulated, I was super excited about it.

You know, I I I've said it numerous times in the past. We have really

great acute care. But if, personally,

if I I can do something on the natural side,

I Eileen was doing that. And I with,

Ravenly. And, you know, I just I've just been able to help

people kinda get to a a better

you know, your health affects your mental health, and

it's all one big, you know,

connected thing. Yeah. What is the

biggest difference you've noticed? And I mean, obviously, while having

a full time job and, you know, you're a captain, starting

a side business in wellness, essentially, you're adding more

to your plate, but it's enhancing your health. What are some of the biggest

changes you've noticed? Because you're working more, you're doing

more, but you're probably healthier, and I would maybe

safe to say happier.

Yeah. So it's an interesting balance because, during

the pandemic, I was I did, go off on

on, mental health leave. So I was away from the

job for about nine months to work on, my mental health.

And, I did get diagnosed with PTSD.

So I was, working through that.

And I think for me, at the end of the day,

connecting with people and knowing that I'm making a difference

really, adds to my

cup. So for myself with I I

guess the the biggest thing I just think for

me is connection, putting really good things in my body, knowing

that, at the end of the day, I I'm doing the best

that I can. And if I can help people along the way, I

it it just it makes me happy. And and and part of the PTSD

is, for me, is being

busy and and hypervigilant about

things. So, you know, when I kinda have a

task or,

I guess, if I'm helping someone or if I if I start something

new, I just I'm kinda all in, and that's just it

becomes my main focus. So Mhmm. Yeah,

it's it's helped me heal, I think, to just helping others

is is just really I mean, obviously, I wouldn't be doing the

job that I'm doing if I didn't like to help other people.

So it it's just a it's a it's a feel good feeling that

I get from being able to do that. And and

I love that. Let let's just dive in a little more because we're coming close

to the end, but I wanna know, like, how did Bravely Global and,

like, the tools or the products help you with your

PTSD? Well, I I

think, overall, it was this the the support,

whether it was the mental clarity. You know,

it's really hard sometimes when you're in the middle of a shitstorm

to know what to do and to know that I have these products

available to me to be able to reach and put a

couple scoops into a shake and know that

I'm giving myself really great nutrition and not having to

stress about, oh my gosh. What am I gonna have that

is gonna help me, with my my nutrition?

You know? There's specific things that we have

that you know, we have a nine in one greens. There's

prebiotics, probiotics, fruits and veggies. Like, that's all

in one. Or, you know, there's a lot of people that are suffering

from inflammation. We have a really great coconut

turmeric apple cider vinegar blend. It

tastes yummy by itself. It tastes yummy in a latte

or if you wanna put it in your coffee. So I think at

the end of the day, it it helped actually put a little bit of

take a little bit of pressure off of what I was

reaching for. You know, you can get into a really bad funk,

and and effort can seem

like you're climbing a mountain. Mhmm. So to be able to

reach for something that is easy and good for you,

really helped. I know for myself, I was

going out walking every day. And as

I as I wrote my chapter in the book, whether it was rain, sun,

or even snow, I'd I'd bundle up and get

out there. And I'm actually gonna go for a walk once we're done here. So

Yeah. You know, it's it's that daily exercise, you know,

moving your body, having supportive

products, a good mindset, maybe a little bit of a food

plan, getting some good water into you.

Yeah. I mean, that's amazing because I was gonna say what's some advice you have

for someone who maybe has PTSD or is going through some mental

health struggles. And it's you know, maybe even

more specific, if you're listening to this and you like

what Sam has to say, you know, in the show notes is her email. Shoot

her an email and let her know that you listened to this episode, and

she'll arrange with you to get you a sample of these products because,

you know, she was able to go back to work. She's

now all working shifts that are twenty four hours a day, about to

walk into her 20 twenty fifth year as a first responder,

and has a side business. So that's a huge,

huge shift. Do you have other one other piece of advice

you wanna share maybe? Well, so

okay. I I did, make a,

like, a free gift as per se. It's, my five steps

so as Blair said, reach out to me. It's free.

It's five steps. If you're in a place where you think,

oh gosh. That is just five things. I can't

even do half a thing. It it's

not to overwhelm you. You can maybe just pick one thing. Phone not

phone me, but email me, have a conversation. I I'll I'll I'm happy to send

you something that would, you know, as a sample that you could

try. Maybe you're suffering from joint pain

and, you know, trying something that'll lower your inflammation,

or we have a great coffee that's got mushroom it's got a

mushroom blend. Or if you're ever trouble having trouble sleeping, we've got a

great hot chocolate. If you like chocolate, this

is a great way to end to wind down the end of the day. It's

got some really great things in there to help you drift off to sleep, and

it's actually called Drift. So, Love it. But,

yeah, I think maybe well, there the five things in in the

personal breakthrough, I think, are is a really great place to start.

I guess my top two things would be

water because that's easy. And, really, what you wanna do is

drink half of your body weight in ounces of water.

And then the other thing is move your body. Yeah. If you if

you if you're having so much inflammation, reach out to me. I'll get I'll give

you a sample, for something to help lower inflammation.

I think a lot of the times, it's about how

things taste. Mhmm. So to be able to get

a sample to to try it, I think is really

great. But moving your body, like I said, I started walking,

and I now walk. I try and get out two hours a day. It's a

little bit of my hypervigilance and focus,

that I go out two hours every day. I get 12,000 steps in and it

makes me feel like I've accomplished something. But really back during the pandemic, I

was able to go out and I was able to connect with people. I could

look people in the eye. I could smile. You know? We still

social distance. It didn't make me feel so isolated.

So I've got I've got a few ideas, you know, if people are stuck or

feeling alone. More than happy to have a

conversation, to try and help you.

She knows what she's talking about, and, you know, she's she's

been through a lot. You know, 09/11, the pandemic,

being off work, coming back to work. So connect with her.

Her links are in the show notes. Sam, you're an absolute pleasure

to chat with. If you wanna read more about her story, you can buy the

book on Amazon. It's resilient AF stories of resilience.

Her, oh, there it is. I love it. And you know what? I believe

every story deserves to get told and everyone should have access to it. And so

if purchasing the book isn't in your cards, that's okay. You can go to the

globalresilienceproject.com, and every single one of our stories is

published on our website because everyone deserves access and everyone

deserves tools. So, Sam, thank you so much for being a guest on

our podcast today. Thank you so much, Blair. And I I

absolutely love and adore what you're doing for for people that go through

trauma. It's it's amazing. Oh, thank you so much. Yeah. It's it's

definitely an honor to turn my my pain into purpose and help others share

their stories of overcoming life's challenges and how they bounce

forward. And if you're listening to this and this is your first episode, we got

tons of episodes you could listen to that have already played, that will

play. We come out every week. And just know that you are

not alone. It is okay to not be okay.

Life is full of challenges and beautiful moments and everything in

between, but you don't have to walk in the darkness alone. Let us be

that lighthouse in the storm for you, my friends.

You got this. Percent. You got this. You are

resilient AF. Thank you. Yes.