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Father dies from valley fever months after moving to Mesa

Just a few months after moving to Arizona, Brian DeGeare started to feel sick. He thought it was the flu.

MESA, Ariz. — Valley fever is rarely lethal, that’s according to the Arizona Department of Health Services, but that wasn't the case for an Arizona family who just moved to Mesa in the spring, hoping to start a new life.

Franique Allen, said in just a few weeks, she lost her college sweetheart to what seemed like the flu.

“He was fine one Sunday night and then Monday it just it took a turn for the worst,” Allen said. “He had complained about having headaches and chills.”

Allen said her partner, Brian DeGeare, chose to ride it out.

“When we did go into the doctor it was pretty much too late,” Allen said.

DeGeare's health deteriorated quickly.

“He started showing symptoms of him not remembering a lot of things,” Allen said.

After a hospital transfer and testing, doctors said DeGeare had valley fever.

It’s an infection of the lungs caused by breathing in a fungus found in hot, dry places like Arizona.

Allen thinks DeGeare caught it while he and his co-worker were looking out for someone else.

“It was a hit-and-run accident and they pulled over to the side of the road to help this young lady and it was through a dust storm,” Allen said.

The infection spread, eventually reaching his brain and killing DeGeare— a strong partner, hard worker and father.

"Kal’el has been taking it very hard because he misses his daddy. He loved his daddy very much. Daddy was always there and so, you know, now it’s just me and him,” Allen said.

Now, Allen feels it is her mission to spread the word about valley fever.

“I don’t want another family to go through this ever again,” Allen said.

According to the ADHS, 60 percent of people with valley fever have no or mild flu-like symptoms and though there’s no vaccine or cure for it, people can ask their doctor to test for the infection and hopefully control it with anti-fungal medications.

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