Mr. Firth served 30 years in the U.S. Coast Guard until his retirement in 2001.  During his military career he was a highly decorated and skilled member of his Coast Guard family.  He served on the USCGC BIBB and the WAGB Glacier. He also trained with the Navy Seals as a hard hat deep sea diver for the elite USCG National Strike Force. In his military travels, he crossed the equator, both Tropics and dove beneath both Polar ice caps. He traveled throughout the globe, served and lived in MA, CT, NJ, NY, CA, VA, Washington, DC ,HI, FL,  finally retiring from his last duty station in Sitka, AK.  After retirement, and at the time of his injury, he was employed by the National Park Service as the facilities manager for the Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord, MA where he served as their fearless leader, tireless worker and friend.

Mr. Firth was born in Norristown, PA. He was the oldest and the first of the 3 sons of Jean M. (Allers) and the late Robert D. Firth of Framingham to achieve Eagle Scout status under the direction of his father troop leader for troop #12 in Framingham.  A 1971 graduate of Framingham North High School, Mr. Firth graduated with Honors in Art.  He received his degree in Applied Science and Technical Studies from Regents College in NY.

Mr. Firth was an a giving church member and volunteer in every community in which he lived. Among his many affiliations, he was a volunteer Big Brother, a search and rescue diver for the Sitka Fire Department, a trained Eagle Handler for the AK Raptor and Rehab Center, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the SItka United Methodist Church and the Chestnut Street United Methodist Church of Gardner.

in addition to his wife Joyce and mother, his memory will always be loved and cherished by his daughter, Chanel D. Firth of Pioria, AZ;  his stepson, Adam J. Fumia and wife Jennifer of Hopedale, MA;  his two brothers: Paul S. Firth and wife Barbara of Alisa Viejo, CA, and Glen A. Firth and his wife Fran of Ashland, MA. He will be deeply missed by” his  grandsons: Devin T. Firth,  Joshua D., Jack W.  and Alexander J. Fumia;  his  nephews: Jonathan I. and James  A. Neal; his nieces Alanna M. and Cassidy A. Firth, Meredith L. and Morgann J. McKunes;  his in-laws and second family: Priscilla L. Neal of Holliston, MA , Jayne P.Neal of Bellingham, MA, Jeffrey B. Neal and wife Karen of Bolton, MA, Julie A.(Neal) Tebo and husband Tom of Framingham, MA, Jonathan I. Neal and wife Christine (Micelotti) of Holliston, MA, Janine E. (Neal) McKunes of Ashland, MA, and, many, many friends and care takers who loved him and were inspired by his tireless fight to live and his boundless courage.

A time of visitation with family will be held at the Trinity Church on Sunday, November 7 from 3-5pm followed by a time of remembrance from 5pm-6pm. A celebration of life with Eucharist will be held at the Trinity Episcopal Church, 17 Congress Street, Milford MA 01757 at 10:00am on Monday, November 8, 2010 immediately followed by a luncheon gathering at the WillowBrook restaurant, 16 Hastings Street (Rt. 16), Mendon, MA 01756. Internment  with Full Military Honors will take place at 2:30pm at the Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne, MA.

The family strongly urges all those wishing to embrace Bruce’s spirit to do so by making a donation in his memory to The Minute Man National Historical Park ,174 Liberty Street, Concord, MA 01742.

*****REMINDER to all those in the Eastern Standard Time Zone- Clocks are turned back one hour Saturday night 11/6 *********


Arrangements for the celebration of his adventurous and miraculous life are  in progress, and will be sent to you upon completion.  Bruce knows every prayer and loving thought that was offered for him.He was touched by the boundless love that was poured out to him during the final chapter of his life. Know that he is grateful. And know that he passed on at peace with the life he shared with us all.

Please keep me and our family in your thoughts and prayers.

Joyce

Blessings, gratitude and love- Joyce

Unfortunately,  from the moment he arrived at the Blaire House, the feeding tube/stomach emptying became a  problem. Over the next 4 days, Bruce’s feedings were tuned “off” more than “on” because he had too much in his stomach.  Although Bruce seemed comfortable and I didn’t see any signs  that he was in real danger, I knew he would have to return to have the situation remedied,  probably by the end of the week. However; the Blaire House staff  became repeatedly insistent that he return to the MRH after 4 days for  fear that Bruce was not getting enough nourishment to thrive. I felt that Bruce needed at least a week on the new medicine in order to give it a fair shot, but somewhat against my better judgment, and at least one day sooner than I thought necessary, I brought him into the ER.  I was happy (and not surprised ) to hear from the ER doc that Bruce’s  blood/urine/x-ray results were probably better than mine!   And, after  an 8 hour wait, and at midnight, he had an IV running and was admitted to have the GI staff problem-solve a situation.

I spoke with Bruce’s Hospitalist Doc today and she told me that Bruce’s nutrition marker tests indicated that he was not in any way malnourished and his stomach study with contrast dye didn’t show anything wrong with the g-tube placement. I was furious, however, to find out that Bruce had received this stomach x-ray test/procedure without my knowledge. This happened a few times the admission prior and I had to call in our Case Manager to put a stop to it. As much as I appreciate and support what they are trying to do for Bruce, I feel violated for him when they do these things without, at the very least, a passing discussion with me as his legal guardian. It would be nice to have some advance notice so that I could try to explain what is going on to Bruce, but that may be expecting too much.

Up until our September visit, our stays at MRH have been outstanding. The MD working with Bruce has always called me every day and I felt part of the decision making process. His kidney stone admission on Sept 12th , as I recall, went well in that regard,  too. But the last 3 admissions have not been so good. It seems I have had to become almost threatening to get them (Docs, nursing, consults) to just call me and keep me informed, never mind  include me in any way. I call the floor nurse to touch base every day that I am not there, and thus far, not one, in the past 3 admissions, has returned my call.  In summary, we’ve got some bad energy going on here and I am throwing it out to our prayer angels, God and the Universe to change  that for Bruce’s sake and for mine.

The wonderful, loving folks at  The Way To Balance, who have been doing distance healing on Bruce for more than a year now, have started calling me during their sessions with Bruce. They tell me that Bruce has been directing them to me because he feels that I need the energy more than he does. I would have to agree. Your prayers, our love and good hands-on care have brought Bruce to a peaceful place these days. In spite of all that has been going on, he is comfortable, restful, and the image of “peace” most of the time. He has become a quiet, gentle presence who sleeps a lot, but still has an occasional smile for familiar faces and voices; while  the stress of these back-to-back admissions has been significant for me. And, add to that the pressure placed upon me to admit Bruce before I felt it necessary, and the lack of complete cooperation from the care giving staff at MRH, and the need I feel to be ever present at the hospital in order to “catch” people and information…well,  it gets overwhelming at times.

I  need to ask all who read this to take a moment for a small prayer for Bruce and for me: Please pray that all the energy which surrounds us both is motivated by pure love and compassion. And, that all thoughts and intentions regarding Bruce and/or me be expressed with clarity and kindness. In spite of all the craziness, stress, and worry I might encounter, I remain blown away by the miraculousness of this journey that Bruce has taken us on. I continue to witness every day the awesome power of love to change things.  Your continued love and support very often keeps me afloat, and I am absolutely certain that Bruce knows every prayer ever spoken for him-We are both grateful beyond measure.  Please continue to keep is close. Blessings- Joyce

Bruce has had 3 Milford Regional Hospital admissions since September 12th. His daughter and grandson, Chanel and Devin, came for a weeklong visit in early September. The day after they left, Bruce became very ill with what we thought was a bowel obstruction. In fact, he was admitted with a kidney stone, the obstruction of his one good kidney, a kidney infection and pneumonia. After a rocky few days in God’s hands, Bruce’s kidney functions began to improve but he had not passed the stone, and the obstruction/infection was still present. I was forced to consider a neuphrostomy tube procedure where a tube is placed into the kidney through the back where urine passes right out the tube into a bag. It is a permanent procedure, meaning that the patient lives their life urinating into a bag, similar to a colostomy situation. After much thought and a family discussion, I opted not to do it at that time in hopes that Bruce could move that stone on his own within a week. Bruce was released with orders to repeat the CT scan in one week. If the stone had not moved, I would allow the neuphrostomy procedure. During the following week, Bruce was doing well, and his kidney functions remained good. Because of his VA contract at the Blaire House, Bruce’s follow up CT scan had to be done at the VA in Boston ( 1 hour ride), rather than at Milford Hospital (2.5 minute drive). The ambulance arrived to take him to Boston when I went into Bruce’s room just as he began to vomit. Unfortunately, because of his condition, and even though I was right there, he still aspirated his stomach contents into his lungs. He looked terrible, so we loaded him up and rushed him over to Milford Hospital ER. During this second admission, Bruce was not able to tolerate anything in his stomach. He still had double lower lobe pneumonia as well. It was believed that some of the medications Bruce takes may have caused GI problems and/or that the pneumonia was causing havoc on his stomach and digestion. The good news was that the follow up CT showed that he had moved the stone into the bladder , and later, moved it completely out. All of Bruce’s medications and food were stopped for several days. They were gradually reintroduced and all looked well.

After 5 days , he was sent back to the Blaire House, but without narcotics or pain meds of any kind. I wasn’t happy about that ,but I went along with the plan. Bruce did well for about a week until we noticed that his stomach wasn’t emptying well again. And, once again, while I was in the room (thank God) he began to vomit up his medications. So, we were sent back to Milford Hospital for another admission. At the time of this writing, Bruce is still in the hospital and the docs are trying to figure out what is going on with his stomach. He has missed at least 1 1/2 weeks of nutrition during the last 6 weeks and I am hoping they can find a solution before his health is too terribly compromised by that. True to his warrior spirit, Bruce continues to smile with those big blue eyes when he is able, and I know he is coping as best he can-better than I ever imagined any one could. He still looks like the Bruce you all knew and he is hanging in there pretty well, considering what he has been through. When I think of the pain he has endured with a kidney stone and kidney infection, without even a whimper – I cannot begin to imagine what life is like for him, and I continue to pray that his angels keep him close.

As for me, I admit that I am feeling the stress of these back to back crisis. I know that Bruce’s journey must come to an end someday, and I know I will never want it to be “today”. His family and I will never stop praying for a miracle for him, and I strongly believe that things that are not possible on the earthly plain ARE possible in the Spirit. I am committed to making every day the best that it can possibly be for Bruce, and he has had many, many, many beautiful days thanks to all the love and support he receives from his family, friends, caretakers and prayer angels. He is deeply loved and I know he knows that.  We continue to survive on your loving thoughts and prayers. It’s difficult to believe that it’s been more than 3 years we have been at the other end of immeasurable compassion form others, and I will never be able to express my gratitude for that. Please continue to keep us close in your thoughts, prayers and daily intentions.  Blessings- Joyce

Our angel, Ed continues to see Bruce each week for CranioSacral therapy and PT. And, we still have Sue and AAron Singleton doing distance healing on Bruce 3-4 times a month. And, yes, I do see improvements. Bruce’s awareness has increased quite a bit. Unfortunately, he has yet to recover any significant movement in his body, but we are still working toward that end. Effective communication is still a huge obstacle. Bruce will blink responses, but he is not consistent. Some days, he is right with it tracking movement with his eyes and blinking “yes” to questions, laughing or crying appropriately, and taking it all in-Other days, just following me with his eyes is like running a marathon-too exhausting to keep up. So, it is difficult to know exactly where he is in terms of cognitive improvement. But, to those of us who really know him, we see much more expression on his face, and frequent attempts at vocalization-We know there is improvement-There is just no way to measure it.

Bruce continues to get regular visits from his family. His daughter, Chanel, and grandson, Devin, will be here in September for a visit. Chanel had her own miraculous recovery from a bone marrow transplant last December. She was declared officially “Cancer Free” on March 23rd
and has been cleared by her doctors to resume her life. I know it will mean the world to Bruce to see them both, and we are all looking forward to it.

Now that Bruce’s health is stable and he is not so fragile anymore, we started to attend almost all of the activities the Blaire House has to offer. We go to see all the localists and music presentations, and we play BINGO and POKENO at least twice a week. (Bruce won 75 cents today!) and Bruce has been designated the Coach
for the senior bowling tournaments and the latest Jello eating contast. Every once in a while he may doze off, but most of the time he is wide awake “overseeing operations” – as it were. All of the residents have come to know him and keep an eye him-especially the women. He has a lot of grandmothers here. They are so kind to him.
They never pass without greeting him and touching his arm or hand, asking how he is doing, or commenting on how handsome he is. He’s one of the gang. The past few days Bruce has had a low grade temp and coughing seems to be painful to him. I am hoping it won’t amount to anything, but a prayer or two from our attentive angels wouldn’t hurt.

Speaking of prayers, I ask you all, who have lifted us up so many times, to pray for: The family of our dear friend in Sitka, Alaska, Georgina, who was battling breast cancer. Georgie passed away in May totally committed to God’s plan for her and into the arms of her beloved Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Georgie is home now, but her
family (me included) is struggling to find a new life without her. Please help me pray for them. And, for my friend and angel Mannie who has suffered cardiac complications which cannot be fixed by surgery. She has gone from a full life to a life mostly restricted to bed with little or no hope of medical intervention. She needs a miracle, like
those we have performed for Bruce. We must remember that in Spirit, all things are possible. Please help me pray for Mannie. And, of much less importance, but still on the radar, please pray that our house will sell soon. It has been on the market almost 9 months without an offer. I need to get the energy moving on this, so that I can get closer to Bruce and perhaps he can come home for a few hours for the first time in almost 3 years. (It will be 3 years on August 9th) Let’s set our intentions for that.
What can I say, but that I will TRY to give more attention to this update posting for Bruce. Please continue to keep us in your daily prayers. We feel your presence, your love and the power of your friendship. You are always with us.

Blessings- Joyce

This past Sunday, our wonderful and loving angles, Sue and Aaron Singleton, the healer couple who have been doing distance healing on Bruce for a year now, came to meet Bruce in person and gave us a the gift of a healing session for Bruce (and for me, but more on that later.) They also had a powerful session with Bruce, bringing in so much love, encouragement, and healing energy. It was clear that Bruce “knew” them, although he had never seen them before. What an incredible joy it was to meet them. More angles brought into my life by Bruce.  And, Bruce’s daughter Chanel, has experienced her own miraculous healing after a bone marrow transplant on Dec 5, 2009. As of March 25, 2010, she is completely cancer free, and back at work! This is how your prayers work in our lives!

As for me… I am okay, but struggling with a few issues. I finally gave into having a root canal that I have been dreading for more than a year-Now I know why! By Easter, the area became infected. I held onto the antibiotic prescription hoping I wouldn’t need it, but after rolling over one night with the world spinning around and around in my head, I thought an infection might have gotten to my inner ear, and I broke down and took it. It’s been 4 days but I am still experiencing vertigo when I lay down flat. So, it probably was not an infection. I have been busy seeing the acupuncturist and a CrsnioSacaral therapist who both feel it is an alignment problem in my spine probably caused by tension in my neck. So, a little root canal work has turned into king sized drama! No wonder my inner guide was dreading it! I ask for your prayers for a speedy resolution to this little inconvenience that has kept me from visiting Bruce for more than a few days.

I do apologize for the long absence in updates, but please know that your spirit and prayers appear in our lives every day-We are never far away for you! I thank you for your continued prayers for Bruce, for me and for our family. Please don’t stop checking this site. I will keep posting on this site as long as Bruce continues his wondrous and miraculous journey. Our continued love and gratitude-Joyce

Bruce’s therapist, our angel Ed, tells me that there is a collective kind of sadness present in our area lately.  It’s a general kind of fear/heaviness present in the collective conscience of the population probably due to the economy, flu epidemic, let down from the holidays, etc. He said that he has been seeing it in almost all of his clients since Christmas, and he felt it strongly in Bruce as well. (I know that I felt it too.) We had a quiet, uneventful Christmas this year. With the grandchildren out of state, Christmas morning lacked it’s usual excitement. We had the annual Neal family (plus whomever else wanders in) Christmas Eve gathering which is always fun; followed by the Firth Christmas day gathering in Bruce’s room which is also very nice. But, I just didn’t feel connected to much of the holiday joy this year. I drove home on Christmas Eve, exhausted, alone and anxious
to get home in the pitch dark when I passed a small Methodist church in the middle of nowhere having a midnight Christmas Eve service. I had never even noticed this church before, but with a light snow falling, I stopped in on a whim and participated in the fellowship of Christmas carols, choir/music, and a beautiful candlelight service which ended at midnight. It was truly the highlight of the holiday for me, and I was so glad I stopped that night. Other than that, there was a veil between me and the holiday which I couldn’t quite understand until Ed explained about the heaviness which had such an effect on us all .I am pleased to say that I’ve felt increasingly better since New Years. Bruce seems better too.  If you recall, I make a declaration each new year which set my intentions for that year. I find these declarations to be fortuitous for me: 2007 , 8 months before Bruce was hurt, I had declared that year to be my year of courage-Thank God, because I really needed courage that year ; 2008- was my year to get strong; 2009- my year to rebuild, and I have declared 2010 my year to get moving- in every way. I have a good feeling about this year -It would be a great year for a miracle, wouldn’t it?

Please continue to pray for Bruce and for me and for our family. That we will know and feel God’s love in all things; that we will accept His will, and acknowledge His blessings in all that happens.  If I haven’t said it lately, thank you for continuing on this journey with us. Blessings- Joyce