Kathleen, meet Martin: 9/11 hero has lesson for U.S. Health Sec'y Sibelius

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/..._sibelius.html

Monday, May 4th 2009, 4:00 AM

It was New York's great good fortune to see the smiling face of Fire Lt. Martin Fullam on his release from the hospital last week after a lung transplant.

"I'm the luckiest man in the world," Fullam said as he left New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia in Manhattan. While luck played a role in Fullam's survival, he is also a hero whose story reinforces the pressing need to establish a coordinated health program for 9/11 rescue and recovery workers.

Fullam, now 56, raced to Ground Zero that terrible day and worked 10-hour shifts for weeks at The Pile, inhaling toxic dust and destroying his lungs in the same way that so many others destroyed their lungs.

Robbed of 70% of his lung capacity by pulmonary fibrosis, he needed an oxygen tank to breathe. His only hope was a transplant and, miraculously, a lung became available.

The procedure is costly. Fullam had the benefit of a federal program for Trade Center responders that has operated hand-to-mouth for years.

At the same time, Fullam also suffers from an exceedingly rare autoimmune disorder that attacks muscles, called polymyositis. It shows up in five of every 100,000 people in the general population, but the Fire Department, with 12,000 members, has recorded six cases.

Doctors are certain pulmonary fibrosis is Trade Center-related. But not whether WTC exposure triggered polymyositis. The question demands research and answers.

Newly confirmed federal Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius ought to take a close look at Fullam's history. For it documents why the federal government must get fully behind health care for the forgotten victims of 9/11.

The effort needs proper funding as well as leadership by an expert who can monitor 9/11 health trends and treatment advances with an eye toward spotting emerging WTC-linked diseases. That person should be the indomitable Dr. John Howard.

As head of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Howard was the first federal official to recognize that WTC rescue and recovery workers were really and truly sick. Named by President George W. Bush as the nation's 9/11 health coordinator, he advocated forcefully for monitoring and treatment programs - and was fired for those efforts.

Howard was, and is, the best physician for the job.