FORT WORTH, Texas - A Fort Worth firefighter who was seriously hurt when a garage collapsed on him during a house fire last month has been released from the hospital.
What's new:
Caleb Halvorson was released from Parkland Hospital on Monday to continue his recovery at home.
"I’m definitely feeling a lot better than when I first came in here," he said. "The doctor and nurses and everybody, my whole support team has really gotten through this. It’s been 34 days, so it’s been long and sometimes frustrating and happy. You know, you really feel all the emotions in there, and you definitely have your good and bad days."
Halvorson said he’s excited to get home.
He’s also excited to see his newborn son, who was in the NICU after being born 13 weeks early.
"Fingers crossed he comes home this week. We’re really, really excited. That’s been like my main motivation to get out because I haven’t seen him in 34 days. And, you know, you go from every day you see him and then you don’t see him and he’s grown so much. So much has happened over this last month that I’ve just missed and I don’t want to miss any more stuff," he said.
The backstory:
Fort Worth firefighters spotted smoke billowing above an empty home on Williams Street on the south side of Fort Worth on Sept. 3. Immediately, they jumped into action, doing what they're trained to do.
The crew was working to knock down the flames when the garage roof collapsed, trapping Halvorson.
A minute and 45 seconds later, fellow firefighters were able to pull him out of the burning debris, and Halvorson was airlifted to Parkland Hospital.
"I remember my butt and my back were just on fire, and I couldn't straighten my knee. I knew my knee was blown out, but I couldn't straighten it. And they cut off my bunker pants, and they said my kneecap was on the backside of my knee," he told FOX 4’s Hanna Battah in an interview.
From Near-Death to Newborn: Firefighter survives collapse, focused on newborn son
Fort Worth Firefighter Caleb Halvorson is recovering from severe injuries after being trapped by a collapsing roof during a fire and is motivated to complete his long recovery to finally hold his son, who was born prematurely.
Halvorson underwent several surgeries for ligament tears and burn injuries.
He will need several additional surgeries as his injuries heal.
The Source: The information in this story comes from an interview with Caleb Halvorson as he was being released from Parkland Hospital.