New DeKalb firefighter lost leg in on-duty crash. Her grit remains unbroken.
Eboni Kennedy knew firefighting was a dangerous career.
It’s why she didn’t tell her family she was going through the DeKalb County Fire Rescue academy, waiting until she was offered a position in August to share the news. They would’ve been concerned.
On the job, she expected to support a community she recognized couldn’t help themselves, to provide lifesaving measures to people on their worst days.
She never thought she’d lose a leg in the process.
But while en route to a medical call in early December, the fire engine Kennedy was riding in veered off the street as the driver tried to make a turn onto Rockbridge Road near Fair Harbor Drive, an incident report shows. There wasn’t a bone in Kennedy’s left leg that didn’t break during the impact of the fire engine going into a ditch and striking a tree.
After more than a month under the care of various nurses and doctors, Kennedy was discharged last week from the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. She has since moved back in with her mother in McDonough.
Her recovery is far from over, though. And Kennedy, 35, is uncertain where her career will go.
“I’m just taking everything one day at a time and focusing on my therapy and my healing journey,” she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution after a recent occupational therapy session at the Shepherd Center.
Kennedy will continue physical therapy as her limb heals and gets into shape for a prosthetic, a process that could take several months before she’s ready to be fitted for one.
At times, Kennedy said she feels like her leg is there. She’s ready to take a step forward and then realizes she can’t.
Her night terrors are a reminder of her reality. Kennedy said she dreams of walking, and then suddenly her leg is missing and she’s falling. Other nights, she is jolted out of sleep from the impact of the crash. Her mind is always replaying the collision, something she said has taken a toll on her.
Long road to recovery
On Dec. 4, Felicia Metcalf had just finished her shift at Grady Memorial Hospital when she got a call from an unsaved number around 10 p.m.
“I hear the captain on the other end of my phone, and he’s explaining to me that my child has been hurt, and they’re on their way to Grady. I turn right back around,” said Metcalf, who is a paramedic turned nurse.
Metcalf, still in scrubs, used her badge to get through every door, except the operating room, to get to Kennedy. She knew her child was alive but was told the injuries were severe.
Kennedy underwent surgery and woke up to an external metal frame holding her leg together. During a second surgery, she said doctors tried to fix her bones but were only able to save her femur.
She was given the option to amputate or continue undergoing surgeries. She knew the tissue on her leg was dying. There wasn’t much of a choice.
“I was watching her while we were in the ICU, and I saw the instability of her vital signs on a regular basis. I saw her body responding to being unstable, and I just saw us getting deeper and deeper into the woods,” Metcalf said. “I gauged where we were, and I knew that her body was showing significant signs of infection.”
Kennedy also had surgery to place hardware in her right hand to help her bones fuse and suffered two broken ribs.
She stayed at Grady until Dec. 19, at which point she moved to the Shepherd Center. It wasn’t until her final week at Grady that Kennedy began to be able to sit up and gently move her legs.
But once she transferred facilities, she began making strides. Much of her life before the crash centered around staying active, a habit her occupational therapist, Sara Gartland, said has helped with the recovery.
Gartland said Kennedy mastered the basics — safely moving around, dressing herself, bathing — quickly, allowing her to begin functional training.
Rehabilitation is a marathon, and Kennedy’s progress has proved quicker than that of other patients with similar injuries, Gartland told the AJC while Kennedy gulped down water after an activity meant to strengthen her amputated leg.
With a resistance band around her left thigh, Kennedy swung her leg back and forth and then across her body to strengthen the muscles. In a stairwell, she practiced going up and down with one crutch, something she did with surprising ease. She also played games like cornhole to test her balance.
The pain was only evident through gritted teeth and deep breaths as Kennedy worked her right hand. Relaxing and contracting it into a fist takes effort. Her pointer finger is still reluctant to bend.
Kennedy said she’s now mostly self-sufficient with her crutches and wheelchair. She’s able to clean up her space, shower alone, cook tacos and burgers, lift weights at the gym, navigate sidewalks and run everyday errands. She even recently learned to load her wheelchair into a vehicle and looks forward to being able to drive again.
Promising career put on hold
She hadn’t been working for DeKalb Fire Rescue for long before her injury. Kennedy was one of 14 people to pass the fire department’s 18-week academy in August that began with 32 trainees.
For a recruit, Kennedy started later than most. She previously worked as a correctional officer in Fulton and Clayton counties from 2017 to 2021, which gave her an idea about what her training and shifts would look like.
Watching her mother go through nursing school also inspired her to become a firefighter. The two worked similar shifts and often spoke on the phone between seeing patients and responding to emergencies. They had talked in the hours leading up to Kennedy’s crash.
According to DeKalb police, the driver of the fire engine and one other firefighter were the only others in the vehicle. They were taken to Grady with less severe injuries.
An incident report stated the fire engine had its lights and sirens activated. The driver has not been charged or cited.
Battalion Chief Douglas Harms, who was a captain over training when Kennedy was going through the academy, described her as a “go-getter,” someone who never had to be asked twice. Harms also leads the Honor Guard, a volunteer position Kennedy joined early on.
“There’s always going to be a handful of the recruits where you can see them progressing and staying with the department and being a captain one day, and she was one of those people,” he said.
Harms said he hopes Kennedy will continue working for the department after she recovers. As long as someone can pass the physical agility test, they can be a firefighter, regardless of previous injuries or amputations.
But it’s too soon to think about that, Kennedy said. She explained that the only thing getting her through is the thought that she’ll eventually be independent again.
“I know for a fact that whatever I do moving forward, I’m going to be successful and I’m going to live a great life regardless,” she said.
A GoFundMe campaign was created to help with Kennedy’s medical-related costs.
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