It’s a sheer sign of solidarity. Haslet firefighters recently sheared their locks to be in lockstep with a popular member of their team who is undergoing cancer treatment.
At a weekly training session March 12 at the Haslet Fire Station, about 30 members of the volunteer fire department – and one of the firefighter’s wives – shaved their heads in support of Nate Abel, 39, of Haslet, who’s being treated for stage four colon cancer.“That was absolutely amazing what happened last night,” Abel said of the head-shaving ceremony. “There’s a true brotherhood of firefighters.”Wes Fanning, a Haslet firefighter/EMT, considers Abel his best friend. The pair sat next to each other in paramedic school. In fact, Fanning credits Abel with persuading him to join the fire department five years ago. When it came to cutting hair, Fanning faced an easy decision.“He’s such a cool dude,” Fanning said. “He’s been a very good friend of mine for a long time. And when someone you sat next to in class comes down with cancer, it makes you think about things.”Fanning said Capt. Lee Godbold came up with idea of how to honor Abel, who is in his second round of chemotherapy, and the entire department was receptive to the idea, including Chief Kirt Mays.“The guys wanted to all get a buzz cut,” Mays said. “If we’re going to do this, we might as well make something of it.”Kimberley Delaneu, the wife of a Haslet firefighter, also decided to join in. She didn’t quite shave her hair completely off – but it’s so short that it might as well be all gone, Abel said.“I was just speechless. I just couldn’t believe she did it,” Abel said. “It actually looks good on her.”Abel, who has been with the fire department nine years, is a licensed commercial and private pilot. He’s also an avid hot-air balloonist. Until his cancer diagnosis forced him to move back in with his parents in Haslet, Abel lived in a hangar at Hicks Airfield.“When you think of Nate Abel, you think of aviation and fighting fires and saving lives,” Fanning said.Fanning remembers gatherings at Abel’s place – hangar parties – where fire department members would unwind and share plenty of laughs. And laughing and socializing is something Abel can do with the best of them, Fanning said.“Nate’s not a quiet person,” Fanning said. “He’s loud. He’s charismatic, energetic. He likes to make sure everybody’s laughing and having a good time.”Abel’s not taking his cancer fight quietly. After a family dinner on the evening of Jan. 18, Abel began to have painful hiccups and severe chest pains. That led to a trip to the emergency room, where a series of tests revealed cancer in his colon that had spread to his appendix. He also had lesions on his liver.He’s already undergone surgery, chemotherapy and radiation and has another six months to a year of chemotherapy left to go. But Abel said his doctors are seeing positive progress that fuels his expectations of returning to a healthy life.“I’m going to beat this,” Abel said. “That’s not a question.”Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
