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Triad fire chief defeats COVID-19 and returns to work after nearly 3 months

Zack Sears, 38, is the Fire Chief at West Lexington Fire & Rescue in Davidson County. He said he spent nine days in the hospital battling coronavirus.

DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. — You might recognize Zack Sears because he's a first responder all over the Triad.

"I'm the Fire Chief at West Lexington Fire and Rescue and Fire Captain at the Winston-Salem Fire Department."

Credit: Jamison Sears

But he was forced to take a break from helping others, to help himself after testing positive for coronavirus on November 5.

"At my worst I tried to take a shower, and just being in the shower for a few minutes took me an hour to recover."

Sears is 38 and he said he has no underlying health conditions. Why the virus took such a toll on him, is a mystery.

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"The night I went to the hospital {the doctor} was just saying like, if it wasn't for the fact that I'm 38 and healthy, the outcome would be very different."

His doctor told him it would get worse before it got better. 

"We went to Forsyth Hospital, I was admitted there and stayed there for nine days."

Even after he was discharged he said it was an uphill battle to feel normal again. 

Credit: Jamison Sears

"They wanted to do pulmonary testing and rehabilitation."

With the help of strength training, he got better day by day. Sears was able to return to work this past weekend

"How did it feel going back to work after nearly three months?" WFMY News 2's Jess Winters asked.

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"It felt pretty good just walking in the door and feeling like I'm actually back to normal."

His family took precautions by quarantining, and never caught the virus.

"We never tested positive, neither did the kids," wife Jamison Sears said.

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