Staff Sgt. Christopher Rogers was active and athletic. He served 19 years in the Army Reserves, two tours in the gulf, a trip to Bosnia and almost a year in Afghanistan. A physical exam when he came home from active duty last May gave him a clean bill of health.
"My husband ran three miles every day. He was physically fit, worked out two hours every day," said Windy Rogers, Christopher's widow.
When Rogers went to reserve training Saturday, he came home complaining about flu-like symptoms. On Sunday, he got worse, running a scorching fever of 109 degrees.
"He was slumped over the dining room table, burning up with fever. He had the heat blasting, the fireplace going and said he was cold and pouring sweat," Rogers said.
Rogers called 911 and paramedics rushed her husband to the hospital, but he died less than 24 hours later. She said doctors did not know what happened, but they thought bacterial infection could have been the cause.
Army doctors say a bacterial infection killed Capt. Gilbert Munoz last week. A spokesman said both Rogers and Munoz spent time in the Middle East, but so far, that has been the only connection.
Rogers' autopsy report is due back later in the week. If bacteria is blamed, Rogers has questions for the military.
"I want answers. I want to know what happened. I want to know what shut his organs down," he said.
A special operations spokesman told WRAL that he is not aware of any other mysterious cases or any kind of active investigation.
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