Walking and Beating

DennisMy name is Dennis Stavropoulis, and I’m from Staten Island, New York.  I’m a Detective with the New York City Police Department.  I’ve been with the NYPD for
over 20 years.

I began my career as a simple beat cop, working the neighborhoods of Brooklyn.  I was fresh out of the Police Academy and proud of my role.  After a few years on the streets I was promoted to the Narcotics Unit, and it is here that I found my true calling.  I would investigate, follow leads, and spent much of my time undercover, setting up and making drug buys.  As an undercover officer, I grew, I flourished, and I was eventually promoted to Detective.

I was in between operations, and my Sergeant asked me to take a day and work an
election poll.  They were holding local office primaries all over the city.  It would put
me back in a uniform, and as it had been a few years since I had put on my blues, I
had to buy a new uniform that actually fit!

I awoke the morning of the elections and got into my new uniform.  After a quick
trip to my office in Lower Manhattan, I jumped into my unit and headed Uptown to
work my detail.  It was a beautiful morning.  It was September 11, 2001.

I was inside the polling site and began to hear the first reports crackling over my
radio of an aircraft that had hit one of the Towers of the World Trade Center.  Within
the first few minutes I could hear the sirens, as every emergency unit in the city
seemed to head downtown.  People coming in for the elections were starting to hear
the news.  I then heard over my radio that a second plane had hit the Towers.  How
could this be?  I was anxious to hear from my command.

After what seemed like days, a report came in that a Tower had collapsed.  My
Sergeant finally told me to close down the poll, and get back to Lower Manhattan,
ASAP.  As I made my way back to my Precinct I could see the dark cloud of smoke
and debris building over the island.

I was assigned to the World Trade Center to help evacuate the city, and after helping
secure the site, I was tasked with search operations.  I would spend the next three
months, 16 hours a day, helping to guard the site and sift through debris.  In the
evenings as the sun would set I could look through the remains of the World Trade
Center and see the light filtering through the haze of dust and brilliant crystals of
debris.

I began to work at the landfill in Staten Island where they were taking the debris, sifting
through to search for remains.  I worked between the landfill and Ground Zero well
into 2002, never protected with anything more than a paper surgical mask.

I eventually went back to my normal duties, but as the years moved on I began to feel sluggish, I would tire easily, and I began to have difficulty breathing.  I developed a loud cough that I couldn’t seem to get rid of.  My normal routine became a daily challenge.  I would get ready for work, head out the door, and have to grab a wall as I struggled to catch my breath.

My symptoms slowly worsened and I was eventually hospitalized.  It was there
that I was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension.  It made sense, but they didn’t
explain the extent of the disease or how fatal it could be.

I’ve had to move to a restricted duty, and I’m now a liaison officer for The Missing
Person’s Squad of the NYC Medical Examiner’s Office.  My PH may eventually force
me into retirement.

When I was first diagnosed, I was overwhelmed as I struggled to receive the care
and the medications that I needed.  I worried every night about my future with the
Department, my health, and then I found out that my medication wasn’t covered by
my insurance.  I’ve been a cop for over 20 years, but on a cop’s salary there wasn’t
any way for me to afford the cost of these medicines by myself.

It was a great relief and comfort to receive a phone call from Caring Voice Coalition.
A wonderful woman on the other end of the phone explained who they were and
how they could help.  She asked about my diagnosis, asked about my health, and
then gathered some information to fill out some paperwork.  With CVC’s help I’ve
been able to continue a regular regimen of medications and receive therapy for my
disease.

I’m not 100 percent yet, but things are looking better.  I can get up the stairs without
resting, I walk around my neighborhood, and I even get out and play a round of golf
every once in a while.  I’ve learned to appreciate these little things that I had started
to take for granted.  My last echocardiogram even came back normal!

I’ll be forever grateful for the support of CVC and their team of caring voices.  After
seeing the worst on 9/11, and feeling the worst before my diagnosis, and fearing the
worst after hearing the news, I once again have a quality of life.  I may never walk a
beat again, but every day I wake up and I walk, and every day my heart still beats.

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