A Parkside volunteer firefighter is warning others to take mosquito bites seriously after contracting West Nile virus and spending a week in the hospital.

Sarah Haynes, who also serves as a borough councilwoman, said she was bitten by an infected mosquito while landscaping in her garden on August 14. She developed a fever and severe headaches that quickly escalated into brain swelling, leaving her bedridden for days.

"I never thought in my life that the West Nile virus would be this serious," Haynes said. "I thought it was a virus in Africa, not America."

Haynes said she couldn't respond to fire calls for three weeks, but is grateful to be in recovery.

"I got lucky because I'm strong," she said. "I couldn't imagine if my daughter or my husband got it because my husband is older than me

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