'Time to save other people': Young dad's gift after tragic accident

Not many of us can say we've saved a life. Even fewer can say they've saved many.

But Tyler Dean has done just that.

The 34-year-old's family couldn't be prouder - or more devastated.

The father-of-two died after a workplace accident in January and now his loved ones are trying to learn how to live without him.

Tyler and his wife Kiara, 33, met as teenagers and spent 14 years together.

They had two sons - Harvey, 5, and Cohen, 3. But the young family's world was shattered on January 28.

'Where's daddy?'

Tyler, who ran his own exterior pressure cleaning business, was cleaning a roof for a client just down the road from their home.

He fell and suffered a serious head injury.

Kiara saw police and ambulances in the street and immediately knew something was wrong.

"I knew Tyler was working in the street so I straight away called him," she said.

"He didn't answer ... I looked down into a driveway and I could see his truck was in the driveway where everything was happening."

By the time Kiara arrived, Tyler had already been taken to Sydney's Westmead Hospital, where doctors said the words Kiara will never forget: He has a catastrophic brain injury that's inoperable and unsurvivable.

"I just started screaming," Kiara said.

"[The boys] are saying, 'Where's daddy? Is daddy going to be able to do tackles with us tonight when he gets home?'"

'I know it's what Tyler wanted'

It's hard to find silver linings in a story so tragic, but Kiara is trying.

An ICU doctor lived at the house where Tyler fell and started CPR immediately, which kept him alive long enough to be eligible for organ donation.

It also gave Tyler's loved ones precious time to say goodbye.

"I slept next to him in the hospital, I held his hand," Kiara said. "I'll always be really grateful for that time."

Two years prior, Tyler had registered to be an organ donor, and he'd spoken to Kiara about his wishes.

It made Kiara's tough decision a little easier.

"It was [hard] but just knowing [they] were his wishes ... It's a gift and I know it's what Tyler wanted."

Thanks to Tyler's generosity, six people now have a second chance at life.

A 57-year-old man has his heart, a 63-year-old man has his lungs and a 17-year-old girl received his right kidney.

A 47-year-old woman received his left kidney and pancreas, a portion of his liver went to a 53-year-old woman and some of his liver went to a nine-year-old girl.

All six have been discharged from hospital and are doing well.

"I'd do anything to have him back, but that was taken out of my hands. And if he could help other people, I have to draw some solace from that," Kiara said.

'Time to save other people'

Also among the "what ifs" are conversations around finances.

Because of the way Tyler's business was structured, he didn't need workers' compensation.

He also didn't need to make superannuation contributions, so his insurance had been cancelled.

"I just wish that we could have sat down and said, if the inevitable was to happen to you or to me, what does it look like for us financially," Kiara said.

"He was doing everything he could to provide for us and give us a stable life ... but the plan was he was going to be here."

Kiara is leaning on her village to get her through, with loved ones starting a fundraising page to help the young family.

Kiara wants her sons to remember Tyler as a hands-on dad who was incredibly proud of his family.

And his legacy lives on in six other people who have been given a second chance.

"He had lost his life and it was time to save other people."