PAISLEY, Florida—A Lake County Fire Rescue firefighter is fighting for his life after two masses were found on his brain after being rushed to the hospital earlier this month.
Blake Kocielko, 28, of Deltona, was rushed to Central Florida Regional Medical Center in Sanford after experiencing blurred vision and sudden dizziness while at home on June 19, according to a GoFundMe started by his brother Colton. Colton also works for Lake County Fire Rescue and is currently working on his firefighter certification, he told Inside Lake.
Blake went through testing and two masses were found and one was determined to be a tumor, Colton said. Medical personnel were unable to reach the other mass.
“The tumors were not excised completely because more testing needs to be done first – but the neurosurgeon feels confident that they are cancerous. This is undoubtedly a devastating blow for Blake, his friends and family, and all of us here at Lake County Fire Rescue,” Lake County Firefighters stated in a Facebook post.
Blake was released from Central Florida Regional Medical Center in Sanford Thursday and is awaiting a second craniotomy at Shands Hospital in Gainesville to remove as much of one of the tumors as possible, Blake wrote in a GoFundMe update Monday.
“I am currently awaiting my second craniotomy procedure at Shands to attempt to remove as much of the tumor attached to my left lobe that they can and from there I will begin a treatment plan and begin the long road to recovery and hopefully return to healthy. I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you, no words of encouragement or support has gone unnoticed, and I truly couldn’t thank everyone enough,” Blake stated in the update.
Blake is expected to undergo the surgery in the next two weeks, Colton said. “Hopefully, that will relieve some of the symptoms.”
Blake worked for a private ambulance company before joining Lake EMS in 2018, “to work alongside me,” Colton, 30, said of his little brother. He joined Lake County Fire Rescue in 2021 and is currently stationed in Paisley.
Blake and his longtime girlfriend, Jordan, have a rescued Yorkie named Survivor and their pug, Milo, passed away unexpectedly while Blake was in the hospital.
If you would like to donate to Blake to aid in his expenses and recovery, please visit GoFundMe-Blake’s Fight
