By Andy Kravetz
Journal Star
PEORIA, Ill. — Nick Riordan had a smile on his face as he watched the dozens upon dozens of people fill the Knights of Columbus hall on Wednesday to help raise money for him.
To those who know him, Riordan, a 3 1/2-year veteran of the Peoria Fire Department, would do nothing else than smile. Not even a possibly life-threatening diagnosis of neuroendocrine carcinoma got him down, say his buddies on the department.
“Every single day he came to the firehouse, he’d have a smile on his face. Never, ever complained, never a bad word. Just so glad to be there and such a hard worker, he never sat down,” said Capt. Bob Lindholm. “He is about the best thing you can ask for in having a firefighter on the job.”
For weeks, firefighters have worn bracelets for Riordan. Some even shaved their heads to show solidarity with the father of three who is undergoing chemotherapy to combat the stage 4 cancer. He was initially given months to live but his wife, Sarah Riordan, who was holding their 1-month-old daughter, said they had gone to a doctor in Denver and had gotten some encouraging news. Still, it’s an uphill battle with the medical bills, the time off work and just the stress for Nick Riordan, whose children are still too young to understand completely what is going on. “They just know Daddy’s sick and taking medicine to get well,” he said.
The firefighter-paramedic learned of the cancer in May when he went to the doctor for stomach pain. He thought it was a gall bladder issue.
“They did a sono and that’s when they found the tumor on the liver,” he said. “And the thing is, all my blood tests came back fine. They just happened to find it when I had the stomach pain.”
People filled the social hall, wolfing down plates of food donated by area businesses. Others bid on one of the items on nearly a dozen tables in a silent auction. A woman who won a share of the 50-50 raffle donated her portion back to Riordan. Union President Rick Waldron said he was impressed with the showing of the community. So was Josh Martin, the union’s vice president.
“We are here for each other,” he said, referring to the close bonds firefighters have. “And it’s amazing all the people who have stopped by to help or to donate things. The community has been tremendous.”
Riordan said he’s taking things day by day. He’s hopeful the chemo will work. He paused and smiled as people came up to him and wished him well. His friend Lindholm has already told him he’ll get through it.
“I told him it was like fighting a 211 fire,” he said referring to a code for a large fire. “We’re tired, but we’ll get through it. We will fight this thing to the finish.”
A GoFundMe page called “Relief for the Riordans” has been set up for the family.
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