Family and Friends Remain Hopeful as Dallas Officer Battles COVID-19 – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
Through prayer, positivity, and fellowship, Sr. Cpl. Arnulfo Pargas continues to hope that he will beat COVID-19.
The 52-year-old tested positive for the virus on June 12. He continued to have difficulty breathing and six days later his wife took him to the hospital.
“I’m glad I took him and they (medical staff) said they were glad I took him in,” said Toni Pargas, the officer’s wife.
They have been married for 20 years but have been together for 35 years and have six children.
She said his oxygen levels were extremely low and he was put on a ventilator. He’s been in the hospital for a month now.
“We believe that God will lift him out of bed and come to our house. It will only take a while,” said Toni.
His wife and one of their daughters were vaccinated in May. They told Pargas to come with them but he couldn’t make it and said he would go later. Toni said he planned to, but time passed.
“The day before I took him to the hospital, he said, ‘Man, I should have just gotten the vaccine,’ you know? As if he had already tested positive and it was already too late,” said Toni.
Your family relies on their beliefs to focus on a positive outcome. They have gone through tough times before, like three years ago when their 19-year-old son Alexander was killed by a drunk driver.
Toni said religion continues to bring them comfort and they only focus on the positives as they gather around Officer Pargas.
“We read the Bible to him every day when we go up there,” said Toni of her hospital visits.
She said the medical staff gave them glimpses of hope about her husband’s condition. She had a moment on Wednesday evening that she found encouraging.
“They just lowered his sedation a little so he could wake up a bit, and last night I said, ‘Press my hand, darling, press my hand’ and he pressed my hand,” said Toni. “It felt great, he knows I am here, my daughter was right next to him and was telling him,” It’s okay, you’re getting better. “
“It was tough,” shouted her 18-year-old daughter Valarie. “We’re all so used to him joking around here and making us laugh.”
She said that she continues to tell her father how much she loves him and that he keeps fighting when she visits his hospital room.
“It’s hard just to see him there in the hospital, nothing to be done and we miss him very much,” said Valarie. “My father means the world to me.”
Officer Parga’s service to the community
Pargas works in the Lakewest Patrol Division and has built a reputation for police work over the years.
“He served, he did food and turkey rides, he was very easy to get along with, he had a nice mind. He knows the people in the community and he’s always there to promote, engage, and interact with our community, ”said Robert Munoz with Community Affairs for the Dallas Police Department.
Toni said even when Pargas is at home, he still helps his community.
“He receives donations and takes them with him in pantries, he does it on his days off in his free time,” said Toni.
“We pray for him, we pray for the family Officer Pargas is very important to the church, essentially the West Dallas ward, they love him and raised him,” Munoz said. “I know he’s a fighter and we just have to include him in our prayers.”
The DPD said although they strongly encourage staff to get vaccinated, it is not mandatory.
According to DPD, 677 employees have been infected with COVID-19 since March 2020. These include 587 officers and 90 civilians. An official died as a result of the coronavirus. Last Nov. Sgt.Bronc McCoy died of complications from COVID-19.
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