Suffering from terminal cancer, Itasca firefighter Frank Nunez gets special escort as he heads to hospice care
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A warrior – that is what firefighters in suburban Itasca call their colleague, Frank Nunez.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported Tuesday night, the firefighter is facing terminal cancer. On Tuesday night, he got a special escort from the hospital – back home for hospice care.
Itasca Fire Chief Jack Schneidwind arrived at Northwestern Memorial Hospital to bring his friend and dedicated firefighter home Tuesday. Nunez's fellow firefighters have been at Northwestern as he battled cancer for weeks – and they came out again with their chief to show love for a man who can't fight anymore.
Nunez is not able to speak. But he wrote how he felt on this day on a dry erase board.
"We have volunteers that are coming in off duty to make sure that Frank is comfortable and has the honor of being in the back of the ambulance for the last time," said Chief Schneidwind.
In 2018, Nunez began serving the Village of Itasca proudly as a firefighter.
"He came in with a great attitude, wanting to make a difference to the people that we served," Schneidwind said.
A year after joining the Itasca Fire Department, Nunez started having a sharp pain in his left leg. He was diagnosed with a rare form of soft tissue cancer.
Nunez beat the cancer and it went into remission. But it returned in 2021 in his left lung – and this time it was terminal.
Yet, Nunez kept working.
"He has not missed a day - and could have missed many, many days - but he came to work every single day," Schneidwind said.
Nunez worked until he couldn't anymore. And before leaving the hospital for hospice, he married his girlfriend, Christina, at Northwestern.
The two met weeks before Nunez's diagnosis. He wrote on their wedding day: "I knew I would marry her. She was the 'one.'"
But a lifetime is not something they have – which is why this moment Tuesday was key.
"Every so often, we get these phenomenal people like Frank, who you just know would walk in a room, and light up the room, and make everyone feel safe," said Dr. Khalilah Gates of Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
That includes Nunez's mother, who came down the hall to his bedside to say her goodbyes – from her own hospital room.
Days ago, Nunez's mother received a stem cell transplant for leukemia on her son's birthday. Both are now unable to speak, and their farewell was expressed on a dry-erase board.
"There's nothing sadder than obviously losing somebody - especially somebody young, so vibrant as Frank," Schneidwind said.
Nunez left Northwestern to a hero's salute. The dedicated first responder got loaded into the same ambulance in which he saved so many other lives of the years.
"It's an absolute honor to take him on this ride," Schneidwind said, "but it certainly is heart-wrenching."
Joining Nunez in the ambulance were the love of his life, Christina, and right by his side, his beloved friend – Max, their dog. Max hasn't seen his buddy Frank for months and needed to ride home with him.
Max, Christina, and the entire family will remain by Nunez's side as he heads to hospice.
