DALLAS — On March 21, Stan Haggerty, a firefighter of 34 years, went to work at Dallas Fire Station 35. He felt fine that morning. And at that point, firefighters were already taking their temperatures before every shift.
Everything was normal, but throughout the day, Stan started getting the chills. By 7:00 p.m., he spiked a 102 fever.
The next day, he got tested and self-quarantined at home. Stan tested positive for COVID-19.
"I had three, four days of fever of 100 degrees. Then my fever broke and it seemed like I was fine," he said.
To date, 12 Dallas firefighters have tested positive and three have returned to work, including Stan. He's grateful to be healthy, fully recovered, and back at work.
With how contagious the virus is, his wife, Staci Haggerty, got infected too.
"I lost my sense of taste and my sense of smell, and I was exhausted," she said.
Together, the couple stayed home and nursed each other back to health. They are glad their symptoms of COVID-19 were relatively mild.
Staci said, "God looked favorably upon us, that not only did we both have it, but that we both recovered fully without any serious health complications."
More on WFAA:
- Dallas officer returns to work after recovering from COVID-19
- 'I'm just blessed to be here': Texas man leaves hospital after 15 days on a ventilator
- Dallas firefighter with COVID-19 talks day-to-day recovery
- 6-year-old boy with cystic fibrosis tackles coronavirus
- Firefighters can't social distance, as every day emergencies still happen