Bill was a Quincy fire fighter for 32 years.  He once when he responded to a fire at Home Depot and learned that what was burning was a mixture of pool chemicals, fertilizers, defoliants and insecticides that were all stored together for the upcoming Spring and Summer season.  The fire consisted of a toxic compound to which all the firefighters who were in the area of the fire were exposed.

When fire was over, all who responded were sent to area hospitals for blood draws to provide the city with a medical baseline from that time.  When all the draws were completed, an emergency department doctor came into the conference room where Bill and other firefighters were being held and gave them some somber news.  His words still ring in Bill’s ears; “With what all of you were exposed to tonight, I would recommend that you get your blood tested regularly, because I can’t say when, but I’m pretty confident that many of you are going to come down with some pretty nasty diseases.”  

Fast forward to April 2016, after taking a photography class, Bill was walking and felt a strange electrical shock across his chest.  Having been an Emergency Medical Technician for over 20 years, he knew the symptoms were not that of a heart attack.  Bill later found out that the atrial valve in his heart got stuck in the open position, and he lost consciousness.

When he lost consciousness, Bill was running on asphalt and face planted on the pavement.  Bill hit the ground with such force that the impact caused a veritable pre-cordial thump on his chest and closed the valve, allowing his heart to work properly again.  When he came to, he was rushed to a hospital where his atrial valve was replaced.  Bill was then sent home only to be called two weeks later and informed that the pathology of his tissue revealed that he had abnormalities and was immediately referred to Dana-Farber.

Having been in the medical field for such a long time, Bill was embarrassed to have no idea of the level of severity and was shocked to learn he had multiple myeloma.

According to Bill, after learning from his doctor about his cancer – his response, after taking a deep breath was, “well, I guess I’m going to lose some weight.”  Dr. Laubach looked quizzical at my response.  “You do understand that you have a serious cancer?” he replied.  Bill nodded my head, looked him in the eye and said, “I know, do you want me to cry? Stamp my feet? Punch the door? I’m still going to have it.” 

Dr. Laubach shook his head and smiled.  “I’ve never had anyone respond to news like this in my career.  If you keep this attitude and outlook, you’ve got a great chance of beating this.”  Bill took his advice to heart, and even through my continual treatments of chemotherapy.