The community of Fate is rallying while one of its public servants, a public safety officer, fights for his life while battling COVID-19.
Officer Clint Willoughby’s family said he first contracted the virus a couple of weeks ago. Both he and his wife had minor symptoms, and she improved.
But nine days in, Willoughby took a turn.
“It was pretty overwhelming. He's a strong, healthy man, 41-years-old, he's a big guy. He just declined very rapidly,” said Willoughby’s brother-in-law Steve Duffy. “It just seems random who gets sick. To see someone who's young and healthy to just decompensated so quickly is a little terrifying.”
Willoughby's been an officer with Fate's Department of Public Safety since March.
"He'll do anything for anybody,” said Director Chief Lyle Lombard.
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Lombard said seeing one of his officers get sick has been a fear since the start of the pandemic.
“We’ve taken precautions and talked to our personnel about doing what they can to limit their exposure,” said Lombard.
As far as they know, Willoughby didn't catch COVID-19 at work.
Still, his community has showered his family with support and much-needed prayers in hopes the public servant will be back on the job soon.
“It’s overwhelming, just the love and outreach. But then when you know somebody like Clint, it's not that surprising. He’s just a good fellow. Everyone loves him,” said Duffy.
Willoughby remains in critical condition, but his medical team has been able to slowly reduce the amount of supplemental oxygen he's receiving.
*Map locations are approximate, central locations for the city and are not meant to indicate where actual infected people live.
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