The firefighter who suffered a life-threatening illness while responding to a fire on May 2 is going home.
Second Assistant Fire Chief Jim Brooks, 44, will be released Friday from Sunnyview Rehab Hospital in Schenectady. He has spent more than a month at the rehab center after 50 days at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, Vermont.
Brooks suffered a torn aorta while responding to an early-morning structure fire in Dresden on May 2.
He underwent a lengthy surgery to increase blood flow to his kidneys, but the surgeon was unable to repair the tear in his aorta at the time. Brooks suffered multiple complications, including a stroke, a blood clot, kidney damage and a heart attack and, until early June, was intubated in the ICU.
Brooks has served more than 20 years with the fire company and has been described as a “dedicated member” of the Fire Department. A GoFundMe page set up after his injury has raised more than $18,000.