By FireRescue1 Staff
MILWAUKEE — Friends, family and colleagues are supporting a firefighter after he suffered four strokes and his wife was diagnosed with cancer.
Firefighter Derek Geppert has been unable to return to duty after he suffered a stroke last year. When he and his wife, Melissa, went to the doctor, they discovered she had leukemia.
“There is nothing more Derek would want in this world than to get back to his job,” Melissa said. “It is the one thing in this world I think he loves more than me.”
Geppert later found out he had a rare autoimmune disorder, and suffered three more strokes December 2016.
Melissa recently learned her cancer is in remission after receiving a bone marrow transplant, reported FOX6. Geppert returned home Monday, where he will begin rehab.
“The challenges we face, we’re gonna face together and we’re gonna get through this together as a family,” Melissa said.
Community members continue to fundraise for the family and a GoFundMe page has been created.