ER nurse at Adventhealth Waterman

Shortly after finishing academy training, Taylor’s dream of being a firefighter became reality. 

He and his wife, Emily, moved from St. Cloud to Clermont in February 2021 when Taylor, then 26, was hired by the Ocoee Fire Department. Barely two months later, on April 19, he suffered a grand mal seizure at work and was rushed to the hospital.

Taylor had experienced bad migraines since childhood but never expected what the CT scans revealed: a nearly baseball-sized brain tumor in his frontal lobe. 

Because the tumor was pressing on his brain, the decision was made to remove as much as possible during an eight-hour surgery on April 28. 

Fortunately, it was a benign epidermoid brain tumor, not cancerous, but recovery from brain surgery takes time—both mentally and physically.

Taylor is overwhelmingly grateful for the moral and financial support he and Emily received from their church, friends and the community during those months. 

Eager to get back to the firehouse, Taylor was in his first three months at Lake County Fire Department when he had a second seizure. It was time for a career change, Taylor decided.

“I had already considered being a nurse before going to fire school, so I went to Keiser (University) for nursing school in 2022,” Taylor says. “I worked night shifts as a tech at AdventHealth Waterman during school. They were incredibly helpful and flexible with shifts.”

Having graduated as an RN in December 2023, he now works at Waterman as an ER nurse.

“I think God had a plan in all this,” he says. “I’m glad I switched into nursing. I’m part of the whole picture and able to help people over a whole shift of 12 hours, not just the brief amount of time I would as a firefighter.”

Taylor finds that the experience of having been a patient himself makes him a much better nurse. 

“It’s a huge tool I can use to relate to people and help them on an emotional and spiritual level,” he says.