Ron Bauer Jr. started his firefighting career as a volunteer in the Lehigh County when he was only 18 years old.

In June 2016, Bauer was diagnosed with Large B cell Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.Less than a one year battle with cancer, his condition looks to be in remission but the overwhelming price tag of medical expenses has taken its toll on the family savings.The Walnutport Fire Company’s Ladies Auxiliary teamed with Northampton Regional EMS’s Director of Operations Maria Wescoe and Barbara Ruch to organize a basket social to help take the edge off the Bauer family’s concerns.The basket social will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday in the blue social hall next to the old Diamond Fire House at 110 Main St. The social hall will have its kitchen open during the event.Thirty vendors will sell their wares, with donated baskets will be raffled off during the day.In 1989 Bauer joined the Lehigh Township Fire Company. He volunteered his services to the Northampton Regional Emergency Medical Services in 2000.Five years later he married his wife and bought a house in Walnutport when he joined the Diamond Company. There he was dubbed “D-Ron” by fellow firefighters.Bauer’s day job for over 17 years has been at a small tattoo supply shipping company in Allentown.One weekend last summer he was blindsided after a visit to the Lehigh Valley Hospital Emergency Room for a persistent cough. He left with a Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis.“I had a horrible cough for months. Then one weekend I wasn’t feeling right,” he said.“I was drained and checking my vitals at home and knew something wasn’t right. I went to the ER on Sunday and they did a CT scan. They thought I had clots,” he recalls.“They came back and said, ‘We think you have cancer,’ I had an appointment with an oncologist and it was confirmed. I had cancer,” Bauer said.“They said don’t get alarmed by the stage 4. The doctor said, ‘Yes you have cancer but it’s the best kind to have, the research is there and the modern day medicine is there.’”The doctor told him, “We’re not writing you off.’”Bauer started six months of chemotherapy immediately, having received his last dose this November.“By the grace of Jesus and God it worked,” he said.Lymphoma is a cancer of the blood that will attach a major organ in the body, for Bauer it was his spleen.“It was so large it was bulging out,” he said.Chemotherapy was a three-week rotation for about seven hours at a time.Bauer said after the first treatment his cough began to clear up. Bauer gives credit to the nurses for providing excellent care.“It was awesome. They run their butts off to take care of you,” he said.Throughout the treatment Bauer continued to go to the shipping company and check in with the firehouse.“Because of my Dutchman stubbornness,” he said.“This was the biggest battle I had to deal with and I wasn’t giving up. I used my stubbornness to my advantage.”After an appointment this week, he will be able to schedule an appointment to have the medicine port removed.“If the doctor says I’m good, I’ll go back in May to get it out of my chest.”Bauer intends to lend a hand Sunday during the event.“The biggest thing that amazes me is the support I got from the people I’ve known for so long. My church family, the fire company, the EMS. My faith only got stronger,” he said.“Even if this just raises awareness, me aside, people need to remember when they get the fund drive card in the mail, the people who dedicate their entire life for free. They should seriously consider donating.”Funds raised will be split between his family and the family of recently deceased William Ingles, the son of Diamond’s Fire Chief Walter Ingles.William Ingles was 36 when he died Jan. 2 from complications after a heart transplant. He was the husband of Erin (Jarrett) Ingles and father of three sons.“We got a tremendous amount of vendors and donations and baskets from the community for Sunday,” said Deputy Fire Chief Michael Wentz.“This is what we do, it’s a brotherhood. We help each other and the community. He’s been there to help other people, now it’s time to help him,” Wentz said.