Texas firefighters shave their heads to support a fellow firefighter battling a brain tumor. Firefighter Jake Owen of the Jarrell Fire Department in Jarrell, Texas, was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor in late January. The 24-year-old underwent a 10-hour surgery to remove part of the tumor and another surgery a few days later to get the rest. Throughout his battle, Jake has been getting an unbelievable amount of support from this work family.
As he recuperated in a Houston hospital, his colleagues back in Jarrell wanted to do something to show their solidarity. Jake’s supervisor was the first to go bald for his coworker, showing up to work one day with his head shaved. "After that, everyone said, 'Let's go do it,'" recalls Jarrell Fire Chief Ron Stewart. "It was just like, 'We've got shears here today, everybody ready?' and they're like, 'Yeah, let's go.'"
In total, nearly two dozen Jarrell firefighters have shaved their heads to show support for Jake, but that doesn’t even come close to their biggest gift to their coworker. His colleagues have pledged that while he undergoes the lengthy treatment process, Jake will not miss a single paycheck. They’re already taking on his shifts for him, for free, and donating their sick days to him. Jake’s dad, Craig Owen, who’s also a firefighter, says their family wouldn’t be able to get through this ordeal without the support of their firefighting family. "It's not always a glorious job, but you have a duty, a calling, to serve people,” he says. “And that's what they're doing. They're serving Jake and standing behind Jake."
Source: Good Morning Americ
Photo: Getty Images