Elgin firefighters rally around colleague with cancer
The first few times Elgin firefighter Pierre Soulier arrived for cancer treatment at Presence St. Joseph Hospital, he didn't realize the ambulances and fire trucks parked outside were there for him.
"I thought, 'Are they triaging? What are they doing here, is there a call?'" he recalled. "And really, they're just coming out to show their support. Some of the guys were there, waiting for me, to hang out and say 'hello.'"
The fire department went a step further and organized a fundraiser to help the Soulier family with medical bills. The event is 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Danny's Pizza, 231 Douglas Ave. in Elgin.
"Under Pierre's leadership, the fleet management division keeps all of our rigs up and running. He has truly given his talents and time to make Elgin a safe community," Fire Chief John Fahy said. "Now it is our turn to give back."
The 55-year-old Soulier was diagnosed with tonsil cancer in mid-April and has gone through several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation since May. He will be getting CT and PET scan tests - the latter in September - to determine whether the cancer was eradicated.
Soulier said he's immensely grateful for the support he's received from his fellow firefighters.
"It's a brotherhood,"said Soulier, who serves as a Quint fire truck engineer for Elgin's Station 7 and also manages the department's fleet division. "You're closer to some than others. Some people I spent 24 years with - including the chief."
Not being able to work in the last few months has been difficult for Soulier, his wife Debbie said.
"He's really a hardworking man. He provides well for his family as well as his friends," she said. "He's determined, to say the least, to get well, stay well and get back to work as quickly as he can."
The couple, who met as students at Northwestern University and reunited five years ago, live in Elgin with Soulier's two daughters.
They had been married for just eight months when the cancer diagnosis arrived. Tests showed the cancer had metastasized to a lymph node in his neck, Debbie said.
"Once you get past the 'Oh my gosh, it's cancer,' you spend time the medical professionals who can tell you what you'll experience," said Debbie, who works at Spa Bleu in West Dundee. "It's all about coming together as family and supporting one another - especially Pierre - through this whole thing."
Soulier praised his medical team, lead by Dr. Courtney Coke at St. Joseph's Hospital. "I got top-notch treatment," he said.
According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate for cancers of the oropharynx and tonsil is 66 percent.
Meanwhile, Soulier said, he is staying positive and focusing on making progress, like learning to eat again after using a feeding tube in the latter phases of treatment.
"I have to push myself as much as I can," he said. "My progress has been really good. I'm not cleared (of cancer), but I feel, my gut tells me, that they did it."