Every day firefighters risk their own lives to protect the lives of others. Firefighters like Fire Captain Mike Palumbo. During his more than two decades of service, his wife Chrissy and their five kids couldn’t help worrying about the job’s more obvious dangers.

“He was drawn to service, I think,” Chrissy said. “He was very passionate about giving back to the community that gave him the opportunity to have that career.”

But a few years ago, far from any smoke or fire, something else caught up with Palumbo while hiking near the family’s home in Beachwood, Ohio