Petaluman uses faith to help others

Mike Ortelle battles ALS while staying strong for his community, where he serves as a reserve police chaplain.|

Mike Ortelle is, by his own admission, not a stay-at-home kind of guy. A reserve police chaplain with the Petaluma Police Department, Ortelle began working as a truck driver and spent time as a limousine driver and a mechanic, before a 26-year career as a firefighter.

Ortelle had always had a strong desire to serve as a firefighter, and he found an opportunity to train as a volunteer, and attended fire academy, where he not only became a regular firefighter but also an academy instructor. He also trained as an emergency medical technician, eventually earning a spot as a regular firefighter in Southern Marin.

In 2009, Ortelle began to notice that he was losing “grip strength” in his hands, which made handling fire hoses difficult for him. Further muscular weakness ensued, and it took 18 months of doctor visits and tests before he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The disease forced Ortelle to retire from the fire department. It was a huge adjustment for Ortelle, his wife and seven children. Both Ortelle and his wife have spoken publicly of how their faith and the generous assistance of the community helped them cope with his illness.

Sidelined from his job, though he still teaches first aid and CPR courses, Ortelle has found new opportunities to serve. A deacon for 15 years with Calvary Chapel, he and some of the other deacons garnered pastoral approval to serve as reserve police chaplains. This position relies on volunteers to assist in death notifications, assist and support victims and officers in times of crisis, respond to suicide incidents, and serve as part of a crisis response team.

They visit sick or injured personnel, are a resource for counseling for members of the agency and their families, and serve as a liaison with other clergy in the community.

The 56-year-old has also served as a Muscular Dystrophy Association volunteer, helping at local events and appearing in the annual Muscular Dystrophy Lock Up fundraisers every year when he is well enough to attend.

“I just enjoy helping people,” he said. “I’ve always had that approach to things. It’s not about me versus you, it’s about us working together.”

And the community loves Ortelle and his family right back. When he became wheelchair-bound two years ago, and it soon became apparent that his family would need a van that could accommodate his wheelchair, generous donors raised more than $22,000 to buy the van.

“One of the biggest things I’m grateful for is the support of my family and the support they’ve garnered for me,” he said. “I still have two daughters to walk down the aisle and I’d like to walk again (to do so).”

(Contact Lynn Schnitzer at argus@arguscourier.com)

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