Hey, My name is Aleisha a local volunteer firefighter. Some of you know me by Allie. Many of you know me as little Swaney or Chris's daughter, but I want to tell you a bit about my dad. Some of you know him as the man who was always out in his Truck doing service to the fire hydrants in the community. Quite a few know him as a firefighter or captain—and boy, would you be right. My dad is amazing and never ceases to impress me. The love and dedication that he has shown to his country and his community over the last about 20+ years (or at least as long as i have been alive) is astonishing. 

To my brother and I, My dad isn't just a fireman; he is a hero. He served in the US military for roughly 25 years and done 2 tours in Iraq. My dad has given his life to the service of his country and his community, and I want to be able to give that back to him. 

The last 12-13 years of dad's life have been rough. Between having a heart attack less than a month after retiring from the military, being bitten by a snake, breaking his back, getting E-coli, then breaking his left wrist— the biggest challenge of them all? The BIG C..Cancer. The only choice we had to fight it was Surgery, which required them to remove roughly half of dad’s left lung. This started quite a battle. Dad already has COPD which worsened after this. Dad has been through hell and back. 

Cancer came back a few years later in his right lung. We got lucky, though, and we were able to zap it with radiation. We were so relieved that dad was in remission. Then recently the news hit us hard. A recent CT scan revealed multiple areas of cancer that were confirmed after two biopsies. The cancer was back (squamous cell carcinoma) again, and it had metastasized to multiple areas. This time it is back in his hip bone, adrenal gland, 2 areas of his neck and very recently confirmed (by MRI) on the lower part of his brain. 

As many know Fighting cancer comes with a costly burden. Just 1 treatment alone costs thousands of dollars. Even with insurance and trying to get VA coverage. There is still a significant financial burden on my parents. Between their normal mortgage payment and the cost of living, they are already struggling to stay afloat—and that's without factoring in copays, dad's portion after insurance coverage and medications, ect. 

My Amazing brother and I try to help where we can and when we can but with trying to keep our own households afloat it’s proven to be difficult. It’s never easy having to ask for help, but My brother and I want our father—our hero to be able to breathe and focus on kicking cancer to the curb. We want him to focus on living and giving cancer one of hell of a third fight. Please give what you can and know that we are so grateful to any amount given. 

Captain Swaney deserves the world—and then some. Please continue to pray for our family and for our hero.