By Laura French
WELLESLEY, Mass. — A Massachusetts firefighter returned home this month after spending 10 weeks in the hospital with COVID-19.
Wellesley Firefighter Brian Hester told WCVB about his experience with the disease, which spanned about three months after he first drove himself to the hospital in March.
Hester, a 20-year veteran of his department, said he doesn’t remember much about his lengthy hospitalization, but that he had been on a ventilator for 40 days and in a medically-induced coma for 30 of those days.
Hester said he woke up connected to tubes and was unable to move because his muscles had atrophied. The firefighter lost 60 pounds during the ordeal, but is now on the path to recovery after completing rehabilitation and returning home on June 2. He said he hopes to return to work before the end of summer.
A total of seven Wellesley firefighters tested positive for COVID-19, leading the department to implement a “lockdown” that included regular temperature-taking and thorough station sanitation.
Hester and other Wellesley firefighters who survived the disease urged others to continue taking the virus seriously and taking precautions as the state enters Phase 2 of its reopening process.
https://www.facebook.com/wellesleyfirefighters/posts/3291772634180912