George Banks did not expect his illness to sideline him for 61 days. At one point, the situation was dire.
“The doctors told my wife I had a 20 to 40 percent chance to live,” Banks, 45, told Spectrum News Monday during an interview on his front porch in Port Ewen.
Banks, a volunteer firefighter and state corrections officer, did not want to go to the hospital on Easter Sunday when his headaches and shortness of breath worsened to the point that he passed out.
“I’m a little stubborn,” he said smiling. “It takes a little bit sometimes.”
His family and fellow firefighters talked him into it.
“I was like, ‘You gotta go,’ ” Banks’ oldest daughter Kathleen recalled. “You’re going to either end up dying here you’re going to get saved there and get the medical attention that you actually need.”