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MIDDLETOWN — Three times a week, Middletown firefighter Karl Gaston travels to northeast Cincinnati for more than two hours of grueling physical and massage therapy.

Gaston, 51, tore the quadriceps in both legs after tripping over an uncharged 4-inch fire hose and stumbling down a hill to his fire truck during the Aug. 8 structure fire at the Lone Star Steakhouse on Roosevelt Parkway.

The 250-pound firefighter — loaded with another 60 to 70 pounds of protective gear — rolled onto the street after his quads failed, and almost was hit by a passing car.

Gaston's doctor, Tim Kremcheck — the medical director for the Cincinnati Reds — said he'd never done two quadriceps before.

"But he also told my mom I was going to be fine," Gaston said. "He was also straight up when he said the easy part was the surgery but the hard part is going to be the therapy."

Nearly six months into the physical therapy, Gaston is driven to return to his job as a Middletown firefighter.

He's gone from being in a wheelchair and wearing leg braces to using a cane.

He also was dependent on others to drive him where he needed to go, but for the past two weeks he's been driving himself to his therapy sessions.

"He's going to do very well," Kremchek said. "I expect a 100 percent recovery."

Firefighter keeps giving while rehabilitating from an injury

For Middletown firefighter Karl Gaston, there's no time for self-pity.

Gaston, 51, tore the quadriceps in both legs after tripping over an uncharged 4-inch fire hose and stumbling down a hill to his fire truck during an Aug. 8 structure fire at the Lone Star Steakhouse on Roosevelt Parkway.

For almost the last six months, Gaston has been going through physical and massage therapy at Beacon Orthopaedic & Sport Medicine. His work ethic has been noticed and so has the progress he's making.

In fact, according to Dr. Tim Kremchek, Gaston is almost at the halfway point of his rehabilitation.

Kremchek said the average recovery time for an injury like Gaston's takes six to 12 months.

"He's doing a great job," Kremchek said. "He started slow ... but he's been working hard. He screams loud and that scares some of the other patients, but he's going to do very well and I expect a 100 percent recovery."

Kremchek said the physical therapy is aggressive and many of the patients are athletes, which he believes keeps the other patients like Gaston focused and motivated .

What seem like simple exercises for an able-bodied person, such as leg extensions or stepping up on an 8-inch or 12-inch step, have been painful for Gaston to perform.

He is also driven to work to resume his life as a firefighter.

"They're nice guys here (at Beacon), but they don't let up," Gaston said.

On Friday, Jan. 16, Nick Reuss, an athletic trainer, put Gaston through his paces. And like Fire Station 4 on Tytus Avenue, no one's cutting Gaston any breaks.

"The sound effects are free," a grinning Reuss quipped as he prodded Gaston to push himself.

When Gaston isn't at Beacon, he's lifting weights twice a week at Power Station gym to build his upper body strength.

Gaston said he appreciates all of the support he's received from the community since his injury, adding that many of them are people he's never met.

"It really helped," he said.

Gaston also has kept busy by doing some motivational speaking to high school athletes in the area reminding the student-athletes never to quit because they are still winners on the inside.

He's also a motivational speaker with the American Youth Football program in Florida and is helping out as a strength coach for the Middletown High School boys basketball team.

Gaston said he's also learned that despite his injury, he has to keep reaching out to others, especially to young people.

"There's no time for self-pity," Gaston said. "No matter what your story is or how tough thing are for you, there's always going to be someone with a worse story. You have to turn these sour things into lemonade and keep going."

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2871 or erichter@coxohio.com.