OLD ORCHARD BEACH — There was a time when Kristopher Fish didn’t know what sarcoidosis was.

These days, Fish, 41, is an encyclopedia of knowledge on the auto-immune disease, after being diagnosed with it in April of last year.

On March 31, 2013, Fish woke up in the middle of the night with chest pain, he said. He later found out the cause was sarcoidosis, which has affected his lymph nodes and joints.

A year later, Fish is still in pain.

“Twenty-four-seven, I feel like I’m having a heart attack,” said Fish.

He said he can no longer lay flat, he uses a walker and it feels like his eye is being pushed out.

Fish takes a multitude of medications, including chemotherapy shots.

“For me, it’s completely debilitating,” he said. “I’ve worked since I was 14 years old.”

Fish said prior to the onset of the disease, he was very healthy. A lieutenant for the Old Orchard Beach on-call firefighting force, he also worked on the side for a plumber. As an active father of three kids, he also coached local sports teams. He was attending Southern Maine Community College, and was working toward a degree in paramedicine.

Now, he can no longer work. His wife, Raina, works part-time, and needs to be available to drive Fish to his appointments. Fish can no longer drive because of the pain medication he takes.

“It’s been a life changer,” he said.

Fish was denied disability, though he is appealing it. As he is from New York, and his wife is from New Jersey, they have no family in the area.

Fish said the community of Old Orchard Beach has become family to him, and he has been impressed by the generosity of people: those who brought over dinners when he was in the hospital, those who have come to his house early in the morning to see his children off to the school bus when he and his wife had to leave for an appointment, the anonymous person who left a box of groceries on his front porch, and his fellow firefighters who installed railings to make his house easier to navigate.

“Everybody’s just stepped up in a huge way,” said Fish. “If we were living anywhere else, I don’t know what we would have done.”

Sarcoidosis symptoms vary, and range from the not so serious to difficulty breathing and blindness. The disease can affect any organ.

Fish said the cause of sarcoidosis is unknown. There is no cure for the disease, though it can go into remission. Fish has been seeing doctors in Massachusetts who are more familiar with the disease than those in Maine, and he remains hopeful that some day he will recover, and be able to go back to his active lifestyle, work and school.

Fire Captain Ron Vire described Fish as one of the most dedicated call firefighters. Vire described him as the type of guy who would be dependable if you needed something, would do it in a second and never ask anything in return.

Vire described Fish’s illness as “mind blowing,” recalling how active he was prior to its onset.

“It’s hard to see a guy like that having such a hard time,” he said.

Vire, who is also a member of the Salvation Army, is organizing a pancake breakfast to raise money for Fish and his family. The breakfast will be held Saturday from 8-11 a.m. at the Salvation Army, located at the corner of Church and Sixth streets. The cost for adults is $5, and $3 for children, while children 4 and younger eat free.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.