Staring down life-threatening situations is not new for Patrick SanJulian. When you have spent the last two-plus decades as a firefighter it is an occupational hazard.

 

During that time, SanJulian, like so many in his profession that have made the job a career, no longer has an accurate count on the number of individuals he has resuscitated, removed from a burning structure, or extricated from a trapped vehicle.

 

Up until recently, dealing with matters of life and death almost always had SanJulian, a captain in the Clarksburg Fire Department, looking at it from one perspective. In October of last year, the perspective changed. It changed in a manner that has put a new value on what he does, life, family, and time.

 

Patrick SanJulian, a husband, and father of three from Stonewood, was diagnosed with cancer. The 44-year-old has stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

 

In the graphs ahead, you will hear his cancer story. You will hear about his past. You will hear about how thankful and blessed he feels despite a grim prognosis. You will also read about how you can join a formidable group known as SanJulian’s Army and help out a person who has spent his entire life helping others.

 

While SanJulian was not necessarily feeling great as the middle of 2022 came around, he was not quite sure what to make of it. Age perhaps, or even work fatigue or one of any number of ailments out there in the age of COVID.

 

“It was this past summer when I noticed I was experiencing a lot of fatigue; I was wearing out easily and had a loss of appetite,” said SanJulian. “It all came to a head in the middle of October when I was driving back home (from his family’s home) in Maryland on the 15^th. My brother looked at me and told me I didn’t look well and told him I didn’t feel well.”

 

As it turned out, a night’s sleep would not remedy the situation. SanJulian headed into work for the next shift on a Sunday and he knew something was off – way off.

 

“I felt like I had the worst hangover of my life and laid down a bit when I got to the fire station. I told the rest of the crew I wasn’t feeling well,” said SanJulian.

 

There was a reason for it. A short time later, SanJulian’s rest was interrupted as he vomited and there was bright red blood that came with it.

 

“I decided it was time to leave work and get to the hospital,” said SanJulian.

 

The color of the blood let SanJulian know it was likely not GI related and something serious. He went to the emergency room at United Hospital Center where an ailment of his esophagus was determined to have caused the blood. However, it would soon be discovered that it was the cancer that led to the esophageal problem.

 

Before the cancer diagnosis, a cat scan was done, and the ER physician let SanJulian know that everything was pointing to cancer. The only variable was to what extent.

 

To figure that out, SanJulian was admitted for four nights, with test after test ran before the stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis came back. He also learned that it had metastasized to his liver.

 

“Honestly, I wasn’t shocked. I knew something was going on and it was serious,” he said. “I think I took the news pretty well initially because it made sense why I felt so lousy for so long. Then there were parts to come that made it difficult.”

 

The first was telling his wife Janie, who works in the medical field. SanJulian said that her background may have numbed that discussion a bit, but the tough one was ahead.

 

“Leading up to telling my kids; well, those were tough days and that was tough letting them know the condition and just how serious this was,” said SanJulian.

 

The moment, he said, was “difficult to say the least,” but he knew he had to be the one to tell them. His three children – one at Bridgeport High School, one at Bridgeport Middle School, and one at Simpson Elementary – were delivered news they did not want to hear and one their father never dreamed he would have to tell.

 

The news was not just the cancer. The news included the diagnosis, with aggressive treatment and responding well to it, and a life expectancy of about a year. All of this in a matter of days after going in to UHC to see what was wrong, and years removed from being the young kid who dreamed of being a fireman.

 

Although he was born at the old United Hospital Center in Clarksburg, SanJulian and his parents moved to Oakland, Maryland for much of his youth. His grandparents on both sides resided in North View and he was a regular there for visits, but his boyhood home was in The Free State.

 

SanJulian’s return to the Mountain State came during his freshman year of high school in 1992. He attended and graduated from South Harrison High School. It was there the love of firefighting really took hold.

 

“I started as a volunteer at West Milford, basically for something to do, even though I always had an interest in it,” he said. “I remember as a kid going by the Central Station (on Clarksburg’s Main Street) wanting to work there and, after becoming a EMT and training, I made it.”

 

Indeed, he did. He climbed through the ranks, today holding the position of captain. And, as he said, depending on his health, he would like nothing better than to earn the rank of chief.

 

As for his health, SanJulian is battling. He is being treated at UHC after the folks of UPMC in Pittsburgh, who specialize in this form of cancer, said the treatment would be the same no matter where he went.

 

“I have a very strong chemo regiment every other Wednesday. I’ve had six treatments so far and the latter two have been brutal,” SanJulian, who will have his seventh treatment this Wednesday, said.

 

The battle has caused weight loss and he said he is down about 30 pounds. He has lost muscle tone, which he said was also due to inactivity. The good news is activity has returned thanks to a familiar source.

 

“I’m back to work and, honestly, it’s been a complete game changer physically and mentally,” said SanJulian, who has been an EMT since he was 18. “I’m a creature of habit and I’ve enjoyed the habits of my job for 22 and a half years and I’m thrilled to be back at it.”

 

While he’s back at it, he is enjoying the normalcy. He enjoys working with 45 people who all know what a life and death situation is and who have taken the oath to protect others.

 

“I’m back with some really good people on a regular basis,” he said. “It’s making a difference.”

 

So are the treatments. SanJulian said his oncology staff was pleased with his last PET (positron emission tomography) scan showing a significant shrinkage of tumors.

 

As one might imagine, he is relying on his doctors as much as his family. And he is also relying on his church family.

 

“My church members and the pastoral staff have been amazing,” said SanJulian, who currently attends Simpson Creek Baptist Church. “I’ve been strong in my faith through this and look to continue to grow in my faith. I want to set an example of the power of faith for my kids to see.”

 

His children have already seen something else that will be of value – what friends do for others in their time of need. The aforementioned SanJulian’s Army is, in name, a Facebook page. There are updates and links to raise funds to help offset the costs, which you can assist by clicking HERE for his GoFundMe page. You can click HERE to join the SanJulian's Army Facebook page.

 

In reality, the Army is a gathering of Patrick’s friends, family, co-workers, firefighters from across the country, fellow cancer battlers, survivors and, people he does not know.

 

“Honestly, seeing so many people there to help is very humbling. I can’t keep up with the phone calls, the text messages, the emails. It’s overwhelming in a positive way,” said SanJulian. “There are too many to name. There are too many to try and thank because I know I would miss someone.”

 

SanJulian got a chance to interact with many in his Army last weekend at a dinner and fundraiser in his honor at the Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center. The place was full of people, nearly 300 people, and full of love. Again, it was humbling.

 

“I just want to give a heartfelt thank you, which doesn’t really seem enough. I’ve had a hard time expressing my gratitude for this because no matter what, a thank you can’t measure the impact,” he said. “I do know that I’m blessed, and it lets me realize and remember those battling the same battle without the support system I have.

 

“A positive for certain out of this is that for the last 22 and a half years I saw a lot tragedy that made me question humanity sometimes,” he continued. “Seeing people doing for me what they’re doing, seeing the event (last) Saturday, it reminds me there is a lot of good left in people. I know people care. I know people are still good.”

 

Because of that, because of his family, SanJulian is not throwing in the towel. Instead, he’s doing what a firefighter always does – he’s going into the battle headfirst.

 

“Initially, it was a shock to here from a doctor you have 12 months or less to live. Then, I processed it and realized only God knows when your time is up … Maybe this is something I can beat, maybe not,” said SanJulian. “At the end of the day, I’ve had a good run at it.

 

“If it ends tomorrow, I know I’ve been blessed with a good life,” he continued. “I’ve never been hungry, I’ve always had a roof over my head, and I am blessed with my family. I really could not have asked God for too much more.”

 

There is one thing, however, he would request of God. And he has promised to do something to go along with his request.

 

“I’d like to have more time and plan to fight this as much as a I can,” said SanJulian. “There are a few things I still would like to do.”

 

Do not count SanJulian out. After all, he still wants to be Chief one day. God willing, that and so much more will happen.

 

Editor's Note: Top photos show Patrick SanJulian in his professional career, while the bottom photos show him at a recent fundraising event courtesy of SanJulian's Army. Family and friends are intertwined in the photos, while the photo below this is a small sample of the Army on the stage at the Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center.