Kevin and Ashley Littlefield having a happy moment during firefighter training.
Reminder Publishing submitted photos
TOLLAND — After spending three weeks in a Boston hospital to treat a rare cancer, Fire Department Capt. Kevin Littlefield was welcomed home last week with a display of fire trucks with emergency lights flashing and friends and family.
“We’re offering Kevin a heartfelt hometown welcome and reminding him that his fire department family stands firmly by his side. In the words of [Planning Board member] Arend OverBeeke, ‘Kevin and Ashley embody the youth and future of our fire department,’” said Tolland Fire Department Chief Eric Munson after Littlefield arrived home on Monday, Feb. 3.
Littlefield has been a dedicated member of the Tolland Fire Department since middle school and was following in the footsteps of his father Robert, a former chief of the department.
“As active members of our fire department family, they represent the spirit and unity of our community,” Munson said.
He met his wife, Ashley, also a volunteer firefighter, while serving and they married last August.
When they began dating in 2018, Littlefield had just completed treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and was declared cancer-free after a long fight, according to a GoFundMe page to help the Littlefields during this difficult time.
Only a month after the marriage, they received the exciting news that their dream of having a baby was coming true with a baby girl expected in May, according to the GoFundMe page.
However, in the week before Thanksgiving, Littlefield began experiencing severe abdominal pain and developed a fever.
He went to the emergency room, where everyone, including the examining physician, suspected appendicitis, but further testing revealed something far more concerning: the appendicitis was complicated by findings that were suspicious for cancer.
Littlefield was hospitalized and treated with IV antibiotics, and after a biopsy, the heartbreaking diagnosis was confirmed: a rare cancer of the appendix that spread throughout his abdomen.
Being self-employed and with Ashley pregnant and attending nursing school the financial burden of living expenses, including a mortgage, along with medical appointments, treatments and the travel and lodging costs in Boston — so Ashley can be with him during his extended hospitalization — are weighing heavily on this small family.
Munson urged the Tolland community and beyond to consider donating any amount to help the Littlefields in their time of need by visiting gofundme.com and search for Kevin Littlefield. These funds will go directly toward the medical and living expenses.
“We know Kevin is a fighter and will fight this battle bravely, especially for Ashley and to hold his baby girl,” Munson said.
