coronavirus

BSO Sergeant's Family Copes With Coronavirus Risks

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The family of a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy knows what's at risk when their loved one leaves to work on the front lines amid the pandemic.

With everything closed, Jeanne Lynn Hansen doesn’t have any singing gigs right now for her band to perform. But her husband, Sgt. Jeremy Hansen, leaves for work every day with a mask and gloves while Jeanne stays at home with their five kids.

Naturally, she worries about COVID-19 and Jeremy bringing it home to them.

"Being a first responder's wife when it's not as crazy as this is always a balancing act. As it is now you have to take the next step and go with the flow.  You worry about him. Even more so now it's a huge fear. It really hits home,” she said.

Jeremy says these days BSO has updated their tactics hoping to limit their exposure by bringing people outside more often.

“It's always a very difficult balance. When I go to a call I’ve got to don my protective gear so that I can protect myself and I can protect my family," he said.

Between online schooling and the swimming pool and the playground set they have for the kids from ages 4 through 12, the Hansen household is always jumping.

At the end of his shift before he greets his wife and kids, Jeremy says he usually strips the majority of his gear off in the garage.

Jeanne says they will make it through this time and their relationship will be better on the other side of COVID-19 – a relationship that’s the result of a love that started in high school.

Jeremy’s work does bring him into close contact with others to protect the public and that is something the Hansens and other first responder families are learning to deal with.

The BSO family sadly lost one of their own to the virus, and currently 59 men and women who are BSO employees are positive. That’s always on the minds of the deputies out on the road, but it's their families who also carry a huge burden wondering what’s going to happen when their loved one walks out the door.

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