I was a USPS letter carrier for 44 years. To protect us from extreme heat, the postal service needs to provide more training and air-conditioned trucks.

• Mike Kurz worked as a USPS letter carrier for 44 years before retiring this May.
• Kurz says he experienced varying degrees of heat-related illness throughout his career.
• He hopes the USPS improves conditions by providing training and air-conditioned vehicles.

This as-told-to essay is based on a series of conversations with Mike Kurz, a 65-year-old recently-retired USPS city letter carrier from Elizabeth City, North Carolina about heat-related safety for USPS employees. It's been edited for length and clarity.

When I had to undergo treatment for sepsis in May and take a break from work, I wasn't planning on retiring from my job as a letter carrier for the US Postal Service. In fact, I planned on staying on for another two or three years.