VIDEO: David Perez is an engineer paramedic with North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District.
“I went to paramedic school at Miami Dade College,” said Perez. “I put in for an application at North Collier Fire, which was North Naples at the time. And it’s been, it’s been a roller coaster ever since to say the least.”
He’s a father, son, friend and mentor, but for the last four years, he’s been in a battle for his life.
“We have our yearly physicals, our department physician. He actually saw that my labs were a little bit irregular. They’re a little bit low, had low platelets, low red blood cells, low white cells, high calcium and high protein,” explained Perez.
In January 2020, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare form of cancer affecting a person’s white blood cells.