Community Corner

Around the Rivers: EMS Staff Rallies in Support of Moon Student

The son of a paramedic at the emergency services authority was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia and is undergoing treatment at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

It was a simple gesture to cheer a 9-year-old's spirits, they said. 

Ross/West View EMS paramedics Keith Singleton, Talo Capuzzi and Shawn McIntyre and supervisor Scott Garing shaved their heads earlier this month and posted the photos on the agency's facebook page where the son of fellow John McCurry could see them.

Stevie McCurry, a student who is at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, was diagnosed six weeks ago with acute myeloid leukemia. Known as AML, the cancer is rare in those younger than 40, according to the National Institutes of Health. It attacks bone marrow, which helps the body fight infections. 

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McCurry, who has worked full-time for Ross / West View EMS for 11 years, was in training at the station on Perry Highway when he got the call that Stevie was sick and needed to be picked up at Brooks Elementary.

A few days later, they ended up at the hospital. The diagnosis was quick, and Stevie immediately began 12 days of chemotherapy. He'll continue the treatments for the next five months. 

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The fourth grader has handled it all pretty well but has been self-consious about losing his long locks, his father said. 

"His bald head is rarely seen," McCurry said. "He has a hat on all the time.”

Hearing the news about Stevie's condition, several guys at the station acted quickly. The paramedics' Facebook posting spread and members of public safety agencies throughout the region continue to send word that they, too, are shaving their heads in support of Stevie.  

In Moon, where the McCurrys live and where McCurry is troop leader for Boy Scout Troop 905, support also has been strong. 

Staff at Brooks Elementary School organized a collection and are selling orange bracelets for $1 to the 395 students in the school. 

Stevie's former second-grade teacher, Amy Filosi, a breast cancer survivor, has also stopped wearing her wig to class in his support, said Moon Area spokeswoman Megan Edwards. 

“We’re a family," Garing said. "Some people come to work to work. We’re with our family. We thought it would be a nice thing for him."

The "family" has more in mind to help McCurry, a father of two and Boy Scout Troop leader who held down a second job, part-time, at the Fort Cherry EMS in Washington until Stevie became ill. 

A committee is working on a dinner dance, and a snowball softball tournament between various public agencies is in the works.

The crew also plans to raise money for the family through a Polar Bear Plunge on New Year’s Day at the Monongahela Wharf, which will mark the start of when many have vowed to grow out their hair until St. Patrick's Day, when it will be shaved off. 

Wristbands in support of Stevie are being sold for $5 each. Hot sausage sandwiches are being sold at the station during lunchtime. 

“By the end of the day, when he was diagnosed, people were already coming up with ideas," said Greg Porter, assistant director of Ross/West View EMS, adding that the fundraisers will be spread out over the next five to six months to help offset the family's travel and medical costs. 

Employees at the EMS station are donating sick leave and personal time to McCurry to make sure he can be with his son when needed.

“If anyone is deserving of our assistance, it’s John," Porter said. 

McCurry said that at first the support overwhelmed him. 

"That hit me very hard," he said. "I know where my true family is. You can go to work at a lot of other places and you're just a number on the wall. That's not the case here." 

He said his son also couldn't believe the guys would shave their heads for him. 

"He laughed and smiled," McCurry said. "He's in good spirits." 

A blood drive in his honor is scheduled for Dec. 10 at St. Margaret Mary Parish


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