Adam Smith has helped save many lives. But a month on from a shock cancer diagnosis, the Launceston intensive care flight paramedic is now fighting for his own life.
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After a routine blood test revealed abnormalities, Mr Smith was rushed to hospital and later diagnosed with metastatic bowel cancer.
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Sadly, the cancer has also spread to his bones. A fractured vertebrae putting pressing on his spinal chord also means the father of two has lost the use of his arms.
Still, Mr Smith is trying to stay positive - aided by an outpouring of support from his Ambulance Tasmania colleagues.
Three days since it was launched a GoFundMe campaign called 'Aid for an Ambo' has raised more than $14,500 for Mr Smith and his family.
His wife of 10 years, Kahlia, who is also a Launceston paramedic, said the support had been overwhelming.
"Everything has just happened really quickly. We had just been living our lives as normal and then this happened," she said.
"When the idea of a fundraiser was brought to me, I wasn't keen at first.
"Because we help people, we don't need or ask for help. But they insisted and I have just been blown away by the amount of support we have got."
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Because of COVID-19 restrictions, Mrs Smith is only able to visit her husband at hospital for one hour a day.
Her two children, Fletcher, 3, and Thea, 1, have only seen their father twice since he was admitted to hospital a month ago.
Fellow paramedic Bron Robertson-Milne, who helped organise Aid for an Ambo, said Mr Smith was very highly respected.
"For a lot of us ambos, we were feeling completely helpless. We couldn't event go and visit him in hospital," she said.
"Talking to Adam and Kahlia, a lot of their friends were also feeling that sense of helplessness.
"We thought it would be a relatively easy thing to set up so they could feel supported, not only financially, but also so they know there are people out there thinking of them.
"He is excellent at his job, he is passionate about his job. He is very unassuming, but very highly respected in the ambulance service."
Having just completed radiation treatment, Mr Smith is due to start chemotherapy in the next couple of days.
With a very uncertain future ahead of them, Mrs Smith said they were taking things a day at a time.
"We have been told the outcome is not going to be good. He may get a year, but it's probably going to be less," she said.
"If he got a couple of years it would be great, it would be wonderful. But if he gets an infection or anything, or otherwise unwell, it's going to have a huge impact on his life."
Donations to Aid for an Ambo can be made here.
Jessica Willard
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
