FDNY firefighter finds support in his firehouse family after life-threatening brain hemorrhage

The city's bravest always put their lives on the line for others. Firefighter Santiago Ruiz says that often means putting yourself last. You're the last person on the list. You're just like everybody else, family, you know, civilians. But that mindset came at a cost. While temporarily away from Engine 319 in Queens and working at Ladder 39 in the Bronx, Ruiz pushed through days of debilitating headaches. From the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep, It was just, it was a terrible pain. He kept responding to 911 calls, relying on Tylenol, and waiting until the end of the work week to see a doctor. That's when he learned his life was in danger. They're like, hey, turns out you have a brain hemorrhage. What's going on right now? It's active. Ruiz needed emergency surgery. Now he's facing a long recovery and a tough adjustment for someone who wants nothing more than to get back to work. Being told, like, yo, you have to do nothing for the next month or two is kind of a shock. Recovery could take months, if not years. And for Ruiz, that could mean uncertain times ahead, not just physically, but financially. It's why a few of his fellow firefighters from Engine 319 are stepping up to ease that burden, launching a GoFundMe so he could focus on what matters most, getting better. The GoFundMe was completely unexpected. that I found out days later. Very grateful to the fire department for the way they've been treating me. The firefighters who organized the GoFundMe wrote the FDNY is more than a job. It's a family. And they want nothing more than for Santiago to be with his wife and daughter. And for Ruiz, that means everything. He missed his daughter's birthday while in the hospital. Now he's looking ahead. Yeah, I missed her last birthday, but I'll be able to make all her next birthdays. In Elmhurst, Queens, Mike LaMorte, News 12.