EVERETT — As D.J. Neyens rounded third, he began celebrating his home run like he’d won Game 7 of the World Series.

The former minor league baseball player who once excelled at Marysville Pilchuck High School and Edmonds College glanced over at his family and headed for home.

As it turns out, the Everett Fire Captain’s longball in the summer of 2025 proved more important to all of them than any he’d hit during his playing days.

Potentially life-saving.

Though unaware of the implications in the moment, Neyens wanted to make the most of this homer. After all, days like this are rare. It was June 19. School was out for Juneteenth, and it was a perfect day for a Wiffleball game.

“A somersault,” the 42-year-old thought, as he determined the best way to celebrate his backyard dinger to the amusement of his wife and two kids.

As he approached home, he decided to put on a show without the slightest inkling of what awaited him in the seconds — and months — to follow.

Though well-executed, his gymnastics routine did not go as planned, and the former professional athlete felt immediate pain when his upper body hit the ground.

Neyens knew immediately he’d snapped his collarbone.

He lay on the ground, perplexed. Still in peak physical form, how could he injure himself in a Wiffleball game?

“My wife and my kids are kind of like, “Ha ha, did you just hurt yourself doing a somersault?” Neyens recalled. “And then when they realize that I actually did hurt myself, they are kind of concerned. It was weird, like, how did I just break a collarbone doing a somersault?

After a walk-in clinic visit, Neyens saw an orthopedist, who noticed an out-of-place shadow on an X-ray of Neyens’ injured collarbone. He believed it to be a growth, but reassured Neyens that it was probably nothing to worry about, explaining that, aside from a freak collarbone injury, he was healthy and relatively young.

He referred Neyens to an oncologist to investigate the mysterious growth, but reiterated to his patient that he’d likely be back to his fire department duties in about eight weeks. The growth would be removed, and a biopsy would be analyzed just to be safe.

Meanwhile, as a multiple-time participant in the Firefighter Stairclimb event at Seattle’s Columbia Tower that raises well over $1 million annually for Blood Cancer United, Neyens made sure to sign up the day registration opened in mid-September, because it typically fills up within hours.

That day, he found out he’d be climbing not just to fight blood cancers, but also for himself.

“We got the biopsy results back, and it showed that myeloma was what the growth was, which was devastating and shocking all at the same time,” said Neyens, who had raised $19,334 for the 2026 Stairclimb event as of Tuesday evening. “You know, I’m only 42 and super active and have no symptoms. I feel great, and all of a sudden, to be hit with a cancer diagnosis — it was a real punch in the gut for all of us.

“You know, I was really lucky that I broke my collarbone in a lot of ways, because we were able to catch it really early.”

The official diagnosis: multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow plasma cells.

The home run celebration malfunction gave Neyens a jump on treatment before kidney failure became an issue. Neyens remains optimistic as his body responds well to chemotherapy treatment. He’s glad to be progressing well, but knows there is no cure yet.

And that’s why firefighters continue to climb. At each stairwell landing through the Stairclimb, there are photos of those in remission, and others who are memorialized.

Many complete treatment and live normal lives without further issues. The process of returning to normal is no fun, however. As chemotherapy works to kill cancer cells, it also weakens the immune system and causes fatigue, nausea and other side effects. The possibility of a stem cell transplant looms, which means 3-4 months of isolation and often a full year of recovery.

Long before his personal battle with blood cancer, Neyens began participating on the Everett Fire Department team in the Firefighter Stairclimb, an annual event that has raised nearly $30 million since 1991 for Blood Cancer United, a non-profit organization previously known as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Neyens, in the midst of chemotherapy treatment, plans to participate Sunday in the 35th year of the event at which firefighters from 28 states and three countries will run, walk or stumble up the steps to the 73rd floor of the Columbia Tower, the tallest building in Seattle.

Many first responders climb the 1,311 stairs in full turnout gear, including airmasks with bottles of compressed air on their backs. The Firefighter Stairclimb, and its sister event — Big Climb Seattle — raise funds for blood cancer research, patient support and advocacy.

This won’t be Neyens’ first Firefighter Stairclimb. It will, however, be his first as a blood cancer patient.

Always a competitor, Neyens saw the Stairclimb as an opportunity to tackle the Tower with the added benefit of helping others. He focused on physical endurance and enjoyed the camaraderie of firefighters uniting for a cause.

“My primary motivation was the challenge of the Stairclimb — the competition of it — and boy, has that shifted,” Neyens said. “The challenge of it, and the camaraderie, is amazing, and I still love that portion. But you know the fundraising part is — and will hopefully — save my life. There’s no cure for multiple myeloma today, but you know, at the rate that treatments are coming and the research is developing, I am very optimistic that, in my lifetime, there will be a cure, and it could be, in large part because of these fundraising efforts throughan event like this.”

Since 2000, the Everett Fire Department has raised over $1 million for the event. As it often does, Everett led all departments in fundraising in 2025 and had raised over $74,000 for 2026 as of Tuesday evening.

Occasionally, the mission becomes personal, especially when it affects a member of the Everett Fire family.

“There’s some people in the department who are just destined to be leaders, and people who everyone hopes to work for or work under,” Everett Firefighter Mike Dunmire said of Neyens. “Just a great dude, great firefighter, great leader, super healthy guy. … I mean he’s jacked. It’s just crazy that he’s gotten sick.”

According to Dunmire, who serves as captain of the Everett Firefighter Stairclimb team, approximately 30 additional firefighters signed up for the event’s waitlist as they heard about Neyens’ diagnosis. There are 71 Everett Firefighters registered to climb the Columbia Tower Sunday with added purpose.

“A lot of people are climbing in support of D.J., and a lot of the fundraising efforts are to show support for him,” Dunmire said. “It’s definitely a bigger deal and feels much more personal.”

Brent Molsberry, a previous Firefighter Stairclimb winner who has reached the 73rd floor in as fast as 11 minutes, 15 seconds, will have extra purpose this year.

“It brings it home even more when it’s somebody that you’re close with and interact with regularly,” he said. “Seeing how it’s affecting them in their daily lives, and how hard it is on them and their families, it gives you even more motivation to do what you can to support getting rid of these blood-borne cancers.”

As Neyens continues treatment, he’s grateful for the support and the extra time with his family. He awaits more summer Wiffleball games in the future, and maintains a guarded optimism. Away from the job for now, the son of 30-year Everett Firefighter Dave Neyens misses time with his second family at work.

“I really miss being a firefighter,” Neyens said. “I love that job. I love the people I worked with, the difference that we got to make on a daily basis. Not getting to do that part has been really hard.”

While Everett has a big department, the firefighters all seem to know each other as their jobs intersect at events, training sessions, and of course, fires. They support one another and push each other up the stairs. Zach Greenberg, who has climbed four times, knows Neyens will still move as fast as he can to the top Sunday.

“I’ve seen him multiple times since (the diagnosis), and he’s just as tough as ever,” Greenberg said. “He’s going to climb with us — not even going to sit it out. He’s an inspiration. So for me, it’s not even just support. I’m trying to keep up with him.”

To donate to the Neyens’ Everett Fire Department’s fundraising page, go to https://pages.lls.org/events/wa/firefighterstairclimb26 or click HERE.

To help support Neyens and his family during treatment, go to: www.gofundme.com/f/support-dj-neyens-fight-against-myeloma