Firefighters bond to help one of their own fight cancer

In early 2010, I began to experience a sharp, very uncomfortable pain in my right hip. Like every good paramedic, I ignored it, writing it off to a hard day of play or a previous injury. Then the pain started to wake me from my sleep and hurt continuously throughout the day.

In September 2010, I had a MRI done to figure out the extent of the damage and discover what is going on. I was 29 and figured that nothing could be seriously wrong with my body. I reported to work, enjoyed my hobbies and spent time with my three small children. It wasn’t until December that I went back and had the MRI results read to me. They had found cancer in my pelvis.

In a time of budget cuts, layoffs, work furloughs and other negative impacts effecting fire departments across the country, firefighters often look to each other for help and support. We know that the union is there for us when it comes to representing our many issues. This editorial is about the members of my union, the Professional Firefighters of Maricopa, International Association of Firefighters Local 4561, my fire department and the true meaning of a “brotherhood” in the fire service.

Firefighters are people of tradition, proud of our 200 plus years of history and fire service comradely. We look to the person sitting next to us in the fire truck or ambulance as a brother, a sister, an ever-ready ear to talk to and a welcomed outreached hand to help when we need it, no questions asked. This editorial is not about me, but about what they have been done for me.

When I was diagnosed with cancer, I immediately turned to my brothers and sisters in the union. The amount of support I would eventually receive was completely unknown to me at that time. These men and woman dropped their own projects and gave up their free time to help me out in any way they could. I was scared and had so many questions that I knew couldn’t be answered yet the answers I was getting were scaring me even more.

My union brothers and sister made very clear to me from the time that I told my engine crew the news that I was not going to be in this alone. The fire department quickly assigned me a captain, whom had just undergone his own fight with cancer, to help me with filling out the correct paperwork and ensuring I had support as my family is not local. Capt. Danny Ashton took the tough journey with me. He took his own personal time to meet me at my doctor’s appointment, arranged and help with all the paperwork that I would need to fill out. His wife Dana even stepped in to advocated for me when I became unable to do so myself.

On April 19, 2010, I checked in for my very risky hip surgery. With my engine crew at my bedside I walked in knowing that the road ahead was going to be long and hard. But somehow I felt stronger knowing that I was not alone and going through it as a team. When I woke up from the procedure almost two days later in the ICU my brothers surrounded me, they had never left my side. The members of the fire department had made a schedule to make sure someone was always there with me. If my family needed rest or a break, someone stepped in and was present. They wanted to ensure I was as comfortable as possible and didn’t have to worry about anything but getting healthy.

I remember sitting with my father, months after the surgery, talking about the overwhelming support that I had received. He told me something that was a culmination of everything I am writing about now. After my family saw the support at the hospital and the days before and after, my father said that he knew if he couldn’t be there, that there was an amazing group of people that would take care of his son. I had to stay in a hospital for almost three months while I heeled. It became apparent to the nursing staff that this was a different situation then the other patients on the floor.

At one point they had to post a sign on the door to have the visitors check in because there were so many coming in so often. Firefighter Andrew Boland stayed by my side for nearly 14 hours, helping the nurses care for me, never thinking of himself even when he was told to go get some food because he didn’t want to leave my side. Engineer Dusty Jenkins offered hugs and words of encouragement on some of my darker days.

At times when I wanted to give up, he wouldn’t let me. Firefighter James Carlisto would spend several days keeping me company, even when I was so medicated I didn’t even know he was there. Some would come and have to hold back their tears when they saw me for the first time. Firefighter Ryan Powell refused to leave one night until I was comfortable, even pestering a nurse until he knew what had to be done was done. These men and women have created a special place in my heart and I will never be able to thank them enough for everything they have done.

During my ordeal the medical bills began to grow. My fellow firefighters stepped up and tried to figure out ways to help. Engineer Chad Cooper took donations in the form of pledges for a motocross race he competed in. Everyone in the department donated; no matter what amount they paid every cent was appreciated. The Professional Firefighters of Maricopa, International Association of Fire Fighters Local 4561, donated money from our general relief fund. The union had set this fund up to help our members in times of need. I had never thought I would need to use it for myself though.

The fire service is an amazing career — from day one you do everything as a team. This fosters a close-knit bond that stays with you well past retirement. You are part of a special community, one who knows what you go through every day on the job and never questions calls for help. Over the next six months, the fire community proved this level of dedication. This community of firefighters transcends individual fire departments and bonds together each individual firefighter across the country.

The bond stretches far in the fire service, with calls of concern coming in from departments around the Phoenix valley and as far away as Yuma. Everyone wanted to know if there was anything they could do to help. Casa Grande Firefighter David Kelman arranged for a fire engine to come by my house once a day to check on me and help with my medical needs for the first week after being released from the hospital. They didn’t care that most of the men had never met me.

They knew it was a firefighter in need and were eager to help. Firefighters would stop by my home and hospital just to see if I was okay and how I was doing. They would bring me magazines and movies knowing that I was unable to walk. They took a collection to buy me a box for of DVDs and reading materials. They paid for gift certificates to restaurants so my fiancée and I could have moments of feeling normal again. They offered yard work and house work, baby sitting and transportation to and from doctor’s appointment. They did everything selflessly and enthusiastically only wanting to do as much as they could.

We talk of “brotherhood,” a word we use to describe a fraternal bond between firefighters. Very rarely do we ever experience the extent of its definition. Every member of the Maricopa Fire Department went above and beyond. As firefighters, we speak of the relationships we have with our fellow firefighters. We take pride in the fact that we care for each other and help each other.

It doesn’t matter if we are men or women, African-American, Latino, or what our personal preferences may be. We are firefighters. We look after each other and help each other in every way. We can put our personal feelings aside and focus on our mission at hand. We have taken an oath to protect the property and lives of the public we serve. The amazing thing is these men and women do not need to take an oath to do what they know is right. Their moral compass is pointed north and sense of humanity strong and reverent.

I will be eternally grateful for what my brothers and sisters have done for me. I will always remember how my department cared for me as a person and helped me through the most difficult time in my life. Words will never express the feelings I have for these men and women, the MPD and things they have done for me. There are so many stories of the work this group of people have done.
And they should know that I will never forget any of them. I’m grateful for my days that have been given to me and I eagerly wait for the times when I may get to return the favor for my fellow firefighters.

Adam Yarlott is a firefighter-paramedic for the Maricopa Fire Department.