Local rock bands Innisfail and Easyco - who always had a friendly rivalry - are reuniting for the first time in almost a decade May 20, and Dennis Bracety can't wait for the show.
He and wife Rachel will welcome an overdue night out at Plush, and the show's proceeds will benefit the Bracety family.
A 10-year firefighter with Rural/Metro Fire Department, Bracety, 35, came down in December with what he thought was laryngitis or a sinus infection. His throat hurt and he was weak.
The situation didn't improve. He began medical tests to figure out what was causing his symptoms, which have left him unable to work since the day before Christmas. He's lost more than 50 pounds since then.
On Feb. 15, doctors gave a name for what ails him - dermatomyositis, a form of muscular dystrophy.
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The causes aren't known, but the Muscular Dystrophy Association website says researchers suspect viruses or exposure to certain drugs have something to do with the condition, which causes the inflammatory cells of the body's immune system to attack the blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to the muscles and skin.
In other words, it breaks down a sufferer's muscles, making it difficult to swallow, breathe or move.
He has a 25 percent chance the disease will go into remission, Bracety said.
"It's not curable," he said. "I'll always have it."
He and his family - which includes Rachel as well as two kids, ages 11 and 17 - are getting by on Rachel's income from her job as acting general manager at the Hooters on West Ina Road and, now that his sick time has run out, on firefighter buddies who have donated their sick time to him. That should get the family about halfway through June.
His workers-compensation claim was denied, but he's appealing, he said.
Meanwhile, fellow firefighter Nico Latini has an ace up his sleeve: About 10 years ago, he had his own concert-promotion company, Suicide Lane Productions, and he still knows a musician or two from that era.
One of them, singer Carlos Arzate, said he was recently hanging out with his former Innisfail bandmates and reminiscing about old times when they decided they wanted to reunite for a show and record it.
And for old times' sake, they wanted Latini involved.
Latini said it would be fun to get Easyco in on the act, too, because the two bands had been foes onstage but like brothers offstage. He called former Easyco singer Cameron Hood, who jumped at the idea.
The bands agreed they didn't want money and asked Latini if he had any ideas about who could benefit from the money raised.
"Nico did so much for us (back then), I felt like if we were going to do it, we needed to thank Nico," Hood said. "Nico said, 'This is how you can thank me.' " And he shared the story of his friend Bracety.
Arzate said he connected with it immediately. Two years ago, his sister fought a mystery illness as well, which turned out to be a rare disease, and he knows what it's like for a family going through that kind of struggle.
With all the changes and adjustments the family has made, Rachel Bracety said she's just looking forward to getting her husband out for an evening and seeing him smile again.
"I never realized how much I loved him until he was in the hospital and was going to die," she said.
IF YOU GO
What: Innisfail vs. Easyco benefit concert for firefighter Dennis Bracety and his family
When: 8 p.m. May 20
Where: Plush, 340 E. Sixth St.
Cost: Suggested donation of $5
Etc.: Go to www.innisfailvseasyco.com for more information or to make a donation.
Contact reporter Shelley Shelton at sshelton@azstarnet.com or 807-8464.
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