20 | HUNTSVILLE LIVING / BEST OF HUNTSVILLE | MAY 2024
found himself disconnected from the church and his congregation . So when everyone became aware of the cancer , the messages started pouring in ,” Vicki said . “ He knew then that he was truly loved and people did care about him .”
That was in March 2023 . As his journey happened , he found strength in the sweet inspiration of his friends through his faith . He was so strong through it all , his wife said looking down at the table .
“ He would tell me you ’ re going to be ok . There wasn ’ t a day that he felt defeated ,” said Vicki .
He was a fighter through the last day he would use words , telling Vicki “ You got this .”
That is when the couple was told there was nothing else they could do and hospice was the final option .
“ As Corby began to fade , he told me that he knew this day would come but he was never going to let it get him down . ‘ And I am still not ,’” said Vicki . “ I don ’ t know how someone can get a report that says you have two months to live and still have hope .”
At first , Vicki told Corby that he didn ’ t have to be strong . But he refused to give up .
Vicki explained that occupational cancer is the number one cause of death for firefighters right now .
“ He refused to give up . He refused to accept defeat and began campaigning for more awareness of how cancer was taking his life ,” she said . “ He focused on prevention , awareness and equipment to prevent the cancer from happening to others .” Everyone knew Corby loved the fire service and lived for it . For a man that never missed work and had all his sick time banked , Vicki knew that the first call in sick meant something was very wrong .
“ He was so dedicated . He was with Memorial Hermann for 18 years and then nine years at South Montgomery County , and had volunteered for three years before that ,” Vicki said with honor .
She described how they spent hours looking back at his recent history to find where Corby had gotten sick . He was diagnosed with the super aggressive cancer that was first discovered and documented in firefighters in 2017 .
“ He had a clean scan in June , and by March he was sick and dying ,” Vicki said .
The chemo he had taken for a year kept the cancer subdued , but once his body was weak and frail and had to be taken off , the cancer more than doubled in five to six weeks .
“ We knew the medical intervention was necessary for him to stay alive , but he had gotten too weak for any more treatments .”
After he passed , Coltin asked if Vicki still had his dad ’ s phone with text messages , and that sparked Vicki to look at her messages from Corby at 2 a . m . in the morning .
“ Any time he responded to a call , he would snap a photo and send it to me , meaning for me to pray because he was going on scene ,” she said .
“ I found that selfie from the big fire and decided to ask his superior if there was anything in that fire on Dec . 22 .”
The fire his crew responded to was a three alarm warehouse fi r e .
20 | HUNTSVILLE LIVING / BEST OF HUNTSVILLE | MAY 2024