Quantico Fire Capt. Goes Beyond the Call of Duty

[Guest]

=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> to USMC Base Quantico Fire Capt. Tracy Wheeler

Quantico firefighter accepts outside call to duty

Submitted by:    MCB Quantico 

Story by:  Computed Name: Cpl. Susan Smith 

Story Identification #:  2005624131414  

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va.(June 24, 2005) -- The fire started in the kitchen and quickly spread throughout the house, leaving the young girl stranded in her upstairs bedroom. The trucks arrive on location. The firefighters tirelessly battle the blaze and retrieve the small child, unharmed.

Firefighters are constantly on call to save lives when a fire breaks out or another emergency arises, but for one Quantico firefighter, his urgent call came from outside his prescribed duties.

“Back in 2000, the fire department was asked if anyone would like to be tested under the C.W. Bill Young (Department of Defense) Marrow Donor program,†said fire Capt. Tracy Wheeler. “It’s a DoD-wide program hooked in with the National Marrow Donor Program to find bone marrow matches for those who need a transplant.â€

A small group of firefighters, including Wheeler, donated blood for screening.

“We thought, ‘why not, it’s for a good cause,’†recalled Wheeler. “So they ran their tests on our blood and then entered the results in a database with everyone else’s information.â€

Wheeler’s good deed went out of sight, out of mind until this year, when he got an unexpected phone call.

“I got a call saying I came up as a match for a 54-year-old male with something called Multiple Myeloma Cancer,†said Wheeler. “I asked questions, but the only thing they could tell me, due to donor patient confidentiality, was he is a 54 year old man, what his condition is and that he needed a transplant or he is going to die.â€

With the fate of one man’s life in his hands, Wheeler saw just one choice.

“I went to the Naval Clinic and they drew some blood,†he explained. “They sent it off to the DoD program, and they screened my blood for any infectious diseases – anything that had happened to me since 2000. I got a call soon after to tell me nothing showed up in my blood screening and I was for sure the best match for the patient. Everything was ‘a go’ as long as I was still willing to do it.â€

Wheeler’s life saving act would be completed in the form of a peripheral blood stem cell donation. 

“They told me what they would do is collect blood from me from one arm, which would travel through a machine and then back into my body,†said Wheeler as he explained the procedure using his hands. “It just circulates blood into this machine, and it takes the cells he needs right from my blood. It will take about 6 to 8 hours.â€

The process sounded painless, but the doctors explained it would be the treatment prior to the procedure that would affect him. 

“They have to give me an infusion of a drug called Filgrastim, once a day for five days,†he said. “What that does is help the cells they need to take out to form better to be pulled out of the blood easier. Basically they told the medicine would make me have flu-like symptoms; an upset stomach, headaches, vomiting, arthritic pains, just an achy sick. They told me ‘some people react better than others; you could feel great, or you could be sick for days.’â€

“I had to sign a waiver for them to even give me the drug because the study they’re doing with it is so new,†said Wheeler. “They used to do it through a bone marrow donation, but this procedure, so far, is a much faster, much more successful way of doing it.â€

Because Wheeler had never been exposed to the drug, a possible allergic reaction could put an abrupt halt to the procedure.

“I just see it as the chance is one in 1,000 that it may hurt me,†he said with sincere concern on his face. “I’m not a ‘what if’ kind of person, I just take it as it comes. The idea of me being able to help someone else do things they want to do, never got a chance to do, or to just give the family more time to spend with him, is an opportunity I can’t pass up.â€

After a complete physical and a series of blood workups over a two-month span, Wheeler went in May 28 for Filgrastim infusions in preparation for the peripheral blood stem cell donation.

“I felt the effects of the drugs a little more than I expected I would,†he said. “I was really tired and worn down for days afterward. It took me two weeks to get to where I could say I was ‘back to normal.’â€

Despite lingering discomfort, Wheeler’s part of the stem cell donation was a success.

Because a successful donation isn’t a guarantee, Wheeler was relieved and excited to find out that the nameless man received the donation the next day, without error.

“We both took chances, and out of luck it worked,†explained Wheeler. “It’s like rolling dice – gambling – but he had no choice.â€

Wheeler played his cards and won the hand for a man in need. 

“I’ve been blessed with a good life, a good job and a wonderful family, and I’m healthy, so I figured I should share the wealth.â€

After a short recovery, Wheeler is back into his regular routine at Quantico Fire Station 32, preparing for any future lifesaving calls he may receive.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

I actually know Tracy. We were volunteers in the same department outside Fredericksburg. Doesn't surprise me one bit knowing the person he is that he stepped up to the plate and did this.