Single dad saved thousands of people as ambulance worker; now he needs our help (VIDEO)

When your life changes in an instant and leaves you helpless, it's very difficult to find the strength to carry on.

Only four years ago Milan Gimis was an ambulance worker, a mountaineer, and a dance instructor - then life decided to make him bedridden.

Photo: Milan Gimis, private archive

He was diagnosed with brain tumor and in 2015 had to undergo emergency surgery.

"I had atypical headaches, that went on and would no longer pass when I took several analgesics. The first surgery left me blind in one eye and deaf in one ear, permanently. The right side of my face was completely paralyzed, but I could find my balance. Then my tumor came back and they had to operate again. After that I lost sight in the other eye and now I see at only 40 percent, often less. I have lost my balance and move with great difficulty," Milan says.

Photo: Milan Gimis, private archive

In very difficult conditions, in a dilapidated house in the Belgrade municipality of Vozdovac, this man is trying to live with dignity, with an income lower than the minimum wage.

Still, with his daughter and mother helping him, he says his life has purpose.

Photo: Milan Gimis, private archive

"There's the kind of person who says, 'Why me?', an then there are those who say, 'Let's see how far you can go.' I'm the other kind. I never fell into despair and depression. I'm not that type of man. I am a single father of 9-year-old Katarina and I just don't have the luxury of giving up. She is my biggest driver and my strength, and I would give anything to be able to take her outside again and be the same dad I used to be," Milan spoke sincerely.

Milan says that as a former emergency medical technician, he helped thousands of people through their most difficult moments - but never thought he would ever need help himself so much.

Photo: Milan Gimis, private archive

"Can you imagine being in complete control at one point, until the moment you can do nothing. I was always a man of action, I had a dance school, I went hiking. The year before last I descended from the Avala Tower, last year from the Beogradjanka building. Now I can't get out of bed without a cane or a walker. The house we live in is in very bad shape, but I neither have the money to renovate, nor am I able to do anything myself," he tells his story, shaking his head sadly.

And as he she lowers his head thinking about how to solve his problems, a girl runs into the room and hugs him.

Photo: Milan Gimis, private archive

"Dad, it's gonna be okay. You're smart, I know you'll find a solution. I'll help you, don't worry. The most important thing for me is that you're still with me," Milan's daughter says as she kisses him on the cheek.

See the full story about Milan's struggle and the difficult living conditions endured by him and his family in the video (in Serbian) at the top of the article

If you would like to help Milan, please contact our newsroom by dialing 011 209 68 47, or email us at redakcija@telegraf.rs.

(Ivana Nedic/ivana.nedic@telegraf.rs)