Band of brothers

MOSES LAKE — The day firefighter Schrade Rouse brought home a signed card and envelope with pictures of 15 bald men from the Moses Lake Fire Department, was the day his mother, Sharon, knew she didn't have to face cancer alone.

"Tears," Sharon Rouse said, was her first response. "I hardly know them."

But that didn't matter to a group of firemen here in Moses Lake who know her son Schrade, a brother to them not only out in the field fighting fires, but at home where he is fighting the battle with his mother as she confronts the reality of stage four lung cancer.

"They do know you because they know me," Schrade told his mom.

What started at home where Schrade first decided to shave his own head in support of his mother after her May 12 diagnosis, soon became a department-wide mission at the MLFD.

In a working environment where the employees eat, breathe and do just about everything together, it seemed to make sense for everyone to join in Schrade's crusade.

"It became sort of an epidemic … a department-wide show of brotherhood," Schrade said. "I wouldn't expect anything else out of those guys."

And with each show of support, there is a different story to be told about personal experiences with cancer.

Fire marshal Brett Bastian was diagnosed with leukemia as a child and has been in remission since the age of 12. Firefighter Paul Guerin lost his father to pancreatic and liver cancer when Paul was 17, and knows all too well about the effects the disease can have on a family.

For Schrade, supporting his mother through her battle with cancer has meant giving up time to mountain climb and hike. But that doesn't phase him when he considers the alternative of his mom facing cancer by herself, something he refuses to let happen.

Fighting together, as a team, is what this latest struggle has been about for the Rouse family and the MLFD.

It's about doing the basics like getting out of bed, going grocery shopping and spending time with family, Schrade said.

For those at the MLFD as well as her family, Sharon is overwhelmed with gratitude for their support.

"This would be an impossible adventure for me without their support," she said, adding that it has been her prayer that family and friends would be strong no matter what the outcome is. "They are the most important thing in my life and mean more than anything else."

Within their close knit family of six, Schrade describes his mom as someone who has always kept a good bill of health, always looking out for the interests of her four children and husband.

"I definitely (have) a moral guide in my mother," Schrade said, who believes he has come to realize just how important family ties are in all aspects of life.

Those close ties also extend to those at the MLFD whom he considers family.

"These guys would do just about anything for one another," he said.

Looking ahead to the near future, Schrade says part of the fire department's aim in showing support for his mom is raising awareness about cancer.

At the Relay for Life event Friday and Saturday in Moses Lake, Schrade says he wouldn't be surprised if there were a higher turnout of firefighters participating this year.

"This is an opportunity to tell people about cancer," he said.