I grew up in the northern Penobscot county town of East Millinocket and attended Schenck High School. I was an active member of the town fire department in high school and throughout my college years. After graduating from Southern Maine Community Colleges Paramedic Program I became a career member of the Old Orchard Beach Fire Department. I have been with the department since 2001 providing advanced life support, fire suppression and emergency medical education for the department and community. I also am a critical care flight paramedic and a nurse for LifeFlight of Maine based out of Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. In the summer of 2006 I was diagnosed with multi focal ependymomas of the spinal cord. Ependymomas are a rare type of glioma and develop from the ependymal cells which line the ventricles (fluid-filled spaces in the brain) and the central canal of the spinal cord. They can be found in any part of the brain or spine but are most commonly found in the main part of the brain, the cerebrum. Ependymomas may spread from the brain to the spinal cord in the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). CSF is the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. I have undergone numerous intensive procedures and surgeries for neoplasm resection and also have had full spinal cord radiation. I am currently in the care of some of the finest physicians on the east coast including Rajiv Desai MD, a neurosurgeon from Scarborough. Although the last couple of years have been trying it has been a blessing to have continual support from my brothers and sisters from the fire departments, co-workers from LifeFlight and Central Maine Medical Center, all of my friends and especially my family including my parents Dennis and Patti and twin brother Aaron and brother Tony.

This year's event is sponsored by Scarborough Family Chiropractic and the Old Orchard Beach, Maine Fire Department.