Longtime Firefighter Needs Community's Help

Pasco County Fire Rescue Capt. Maria Silva has made a career out of rushing into dangerous situations to help people in need.

Now, the 16-year veteran firefighter and paramedic needs a little saving herself.

Silva, 42, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer earlier this year. She has since run out of all her vacation and sick days and is unable to make ends meet let alone pay insurance premiums now that she’s been listed on the county’s inactive roster, explained her sister Diana Luketich.

As a single mother with a 17-year-old daughter, Silva has been struggling since she reverted to inactive status on April 5, her sister said. With continuing care ongoing at Moffitt Cancer Center and the need for additional surgeries, it’s unclear just how long she’ll be without a paycheck.

Pasco County Fire Rescue reports that Silva is still technically employed by the agency, but is listed on inactive duty. The firefighter who has mainly served the New Port Richey area throughout her career can return to work on full or light duty should her medical condition improve, the county reports.

Seeing that condition improve is Luketich’s top priority. She said her sister has family support, but the family itself is also struggling.

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Luketich, a mother of three, was diagnosed with lymphoma and has since had multiple surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy. Silva’s father, Daniel Silva, was diagnosed with prostate cancer nearly a year ago.

“A trio of cancer in the family has been very, very heavy on us financially and emotionally,” Luketich explained.

Still, wanting to help her sister, Luketich has launched an online fundraiser on YouCaring. The aim is to raise $22,500 to offset Silva’s costs of care and help keep her household running as she fights the disease.

“I hope we can get her the help and support to overcome her financial hardship as well as get some plan in place for others EMTs, paramedics and firefighters facing the same scenario,” Luketich told Patch.

She was referring to Florida’s lack of a Cancer Presumption Law. That law, enacted in 34 states, makes the assumption that firefighters who develop cancer are likely suffering from an illness caused by the job, USA Today reported. That means firefighters in states with the law don’t face quite the same financial strain Silva is looking at courtesy of accessibility to worker’s compensation and other safeguards. While Florida does have laws that presume firefighters who contract heart and lung diseases did so on the job, cancer is not included.

A study conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that firefighters are more likely to develop respiratory, digestive and urinary system cancers than the general population. In addition, researchers found that firefighters in their study group had a mesothelioma rate two times higher than the rate for the population as a whole.

Raising awareness about the state’s lack of a Cancer Presumption Law is just one of Luketich’s aims with the fundraiser. The more pressing one, she said, is helping make sure her sister, who has spent her life helping others, gets the help she now needs.

To donate to Silva’s care, visit the fundraiser on YouCaring.com.

Photo courtesy Maria Silva courtesy of Diana Luketich

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