A dad's world came "crashing down" after a shock cancer diagnosis followed a routine dental appointment.
Paul Doherty, known as 'Doc' to his loved ones, had what he thought was a mouth ulcer when he went to the dentist for a check-up.
But what followed was every family's worst nightmare - Paul was diagnosed with oral carcinoma, or mouth cancer, after being referred to hospital by his dentist.
According to Birmingham Live, the 48-year-old immediately underwent major surgery in which part of his tongue and lymph nodes in his neck were removed.
Since then, he has had to learn how to talk again after having a tracheostomy, a surgically created hole in the windpipe that provides an alternative way to breathe.
Paul’s family have struggled with the devastating consequences of Paul’s illness, having had to see their "outgoing and kind-hearted" dad and husband fight to recover.
A family friend has set up a fundraiser for the family, as construction worker Paul brought in their only income.
So far, £5,000 has been raised, which will cover transportation costs to and from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, with some money going towards support for the family until self-employed Paul can work again.
On the GoFundMe set up by family friend Laura O'Neil, it says: "To all who knows Paul (referred to friends as Doc), everyone knows the big personality he has, he's extremely outgoing and has the kindest heart and lives for his family and friends. Doc is 48 and has always been self-employed working within the construction industry.
"He has always worked hard to provide for his family and had exciting things planned for his future but four weeks ago his and his family’s life came crashing down. Around Christmas he had what he thought was an ulcer on his tongue and left it as that.
"Until recently he took a trip to the dentist who referred him to the hospital. [After] weeks of anxiously waiting for the results…unfortunately the dreaded news came."
Paul is now learning to talk again. Laura explained: "He is currently learning to talk through his tracheostomy, he has been so brave and has kept his spirits up but he has a long road to recovery and a hell of a lot of fighting to do before the end.
"So we have decided to try to take a tiny amount of pressure away from him and his family and try and raise some money to pay for things such as transport to and from the QE hospital as his partner does not drive, and food and bills.
“Doc's wages are the main income to the family house and as he will not be able to work for the foreseeable future, we would love to try and take a little pressure off and enable them to keep there strength for their future fight."
Paul's wife Sam said she was "very grateful" for the support. She added: "You never think it will happen to you."
You can visit Laura's fundraising page here.
