IAFF Local 4116 Member Jeff Dunn succumbs to Lou Gehrig's Disease
Blogger allows me to write posts and save them as drafts. Until today I had one draft which I never published. The reason for that is that I sent an email out about this firefighter and never received a reply. Due to the delicate nature of the firefighters disposition I did not want to publish the post without knowing the firefighters current state of health. Well today I received that reply I was waiting for. Read on...
My original post left in draft form from February 26, 2006:
For those of you who do not know Lou Gehrigs disease, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), neurodegenerative disease that usually attacks both upper and lower motor neurons and causes degeneration throughout the brain and spinal cord. Basically you loose all ability to control your body beginning with your muscles and ending with your organs.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Jeff Dunn's family and friends.
There is no more of a point to make other than this is why firefighters across the Nation and Canada raise money each year for the Muscular Dystrophy Association to find a cure for this disease and others like it.
Addition: I completely overlooked the fact that Captain Brown died of Lou Gehrig's disease as well just a couple of years ago. I apologize for the oversight, and I thank the individual for pointing it out.
My original post left in draft form from February 26, 2006:
Jeff Dunn, a firefighter with Castle Rock Fire Department and a member of Local 4116, is battling A.L.S. (Lou Gehrig's Disease). His brother and sister firefighters have assisted in raising money for Jeff Dunn and the ALS Foundation. If you get a chance check out the Castle Rock Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 4116 website and you can see the events they have held for their courageous brother who is battling the biggest fire of his life. On the site there is a link to an article the local news channel reported on Firefighter Jeff Dunn. Jeff and his wife, Cyrilla, have kept their heads up through their battle with ALS.The email that I received today from the webmaster of CastleRock's website stated that he apologized for not getting to my email sooner and that Jeff Dunn had passed away three days ago. He told me to look to their website for more information.
You may or may not know about Vernon Barnard, a Roanoke City firefighter, who died of Lou Gehrigs Disease in November 1997. While I was not here when Vernon was, I have heard the many stories about him. There are a lot of Firefighters here in Roanoke who remember Vernon, the fun times he had with the guys, and the...this is where I had stopped and saved it as a draft.
For those of you who do not know Lou Gehrigs disease, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), neurodegenerative disease that usually attacks both upper and lower motor neurons and causes degeneration throughout the brain and spinal cord. Basically you loose all ability to control your body beginning with your muscles and ending with your organs.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Jeff Dunn's family and friends.
There is no more of a point to make other than this is why firefighters across the Nation and Canada raise money each year for the Muscular Dystrophy Association to find a cure for this disease and others like it.
Addition: I completely overlooked the fact that Captain Brown died of Lou Gehrig's disease as well just a couple of years ago. I apologize for the oversight, and I thank the individual for pointing it out.
2 comments:
FireFleitz-
I think this is the first time I heard of my brother described as delicate. He attacked every challange with vigor. He worked passionately, on and off-duty, to save lives. Even after expiermental surgery in China failed to help him, he held out hope that the data he was providing the doctors would help the research and eventually benifit others.
Never one to seek fame, he allowed his status as a firefighter/engineer/paramedic, flesh and blood heros, and his illness to advance the support of ALS/MDF research. He knew that ALS researchers were unlikely to come up with an effective treatment or cure in time for him, but his desire was to see that others might not have to suffer the same fate.
Jeff's illness progressed swiftly and he died just shy of three years from his diagnosis. During this time Jeff, Cyrilla, Tanner, and my parents were truely blessed by the financial, logistical, and emotional support they have/will continue to receive from the Castle Rock firefighters.
The last call bell rang for Jeff Dunn on Monday, July 3, 2006 in Castle Rock, CO in the presence of nearly 200 of his fellow heros.
My heart goes out to the families and colleagues of Vernon Barnard and Captain Brown.
I know that both of them, as well as my brother were heros not by how they died but by what they chose to do with their lives.
-Michael Dunn school.technology@gmail.com
Thank you for your comment Michael. I always appreciate personal touches to posts that I make. I would like you to know that my reason for posting about Jeff was to uncover his story for those who did not know it, including myself, and give cause for all the hard work that firefighters put forth in raising money for the MDA. I feel that stories like these might curb the attitudes of others and possibly fuel the fire of others who already raise money and understand these illnesses.
I remember reading the story about Jeff several months ago when I was going to post this story. I remember seeing all the stuff that the Firefighters there in Castle Rock had done for him and provided for him and his family. That is the part of firefighting that I am most proud of.
Thanks for your comments Michael.
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