NATIONAL CITY, Calif. (KGTV) - Supporters are rallying to help a 27-year-old National City firefighter, recently diagnosed with cancer.
“It became super frightening for him and his wife, and all of us at the department,” said National City Fire Battalion Chief James Stiles.
The diagnosis shook the National City Fire Department: cancer for firefighter/paramedic, Trevor Halliburton, on the job for just over two years.
On the day after Thanksgiving, Halliburton and other firefighters were doing routine physical training. As he threw a football, the motion caused his arm to break.
“Merely throwing a football is usually not enough force to break an arm, so it was pretty concerning right off the bat,” said Stiles.
Stiles says tests found lesions in bones throughout Halliburton's body, leading to a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
“It became super worrisome. It hit us really hard,” said Stiles. “We as a department haven’t had someone so young go through that in the last 5, 10, 15 years.”
Halliburton, recently married, now faces four to six months of chemotherapy and treatments. But despite the sobering diagnosis, there is good news. Stiles says the cancer is a treatable form of lymphoma.
"Doctors are extremely optimistic. There’s no reason to believe he won't make a full recovery. It’s just going to be a long road,” said Stiles.
Halliburton and his wife won't be alone on that road.
“The fire family is an extended family,” said Stiles. “The fire family and community have been tremendous.”
His fellow fighters started a Gofundme campaign to help with various expenses, including costs related to in vitro fertilization (IVF). Stiles says the chemotherapy could affect Halliburton's fertility.
“My understanding is that starting a family is something that’s very important to them, so it’s definitely something we wanted to be able to help them out with … Our goal is to take away any stress of finances, so they can concentrate on the treatment,” said Stiles.
Halliburton has been released from the hospital and is back at his home in Temecula. He recently began his chemotherapy treatments.
