‘My heart is so broken.’ Mississippi sports writer with COVID-19 is on ventilator in ICU
A Mississippi sports writer who covers Ole Miss football has been moved to an Intensive Care Unit as he fights the new coronavirus.
David Johnson, who writes for 247sports.com and CBS Sports, had been posting regular updates on his Facebook page to keep friends and family up to date. His last post was at 10:07 a.m. Wednesday, letting people know that his wife, who has also tested positive, is doing well at home while under quarantine.
Johnson’s daughter, Sydney posted to his Facebook page Thursday morning telling followers that things took a serious turn for her father. He’s hospitalized at Baptist Memorial in Oxford.
“My heart is broken,” she wrote. “Last night, my dad was moved to the ICU. He has been intubated and placed on a machine that is breathing for him. His lungs are very weak and need time to heal.
“I am begging for prayers. God, please let my sweet dad wake up again and be fully healed. Please protect my mom who has the same monster of a virus living inside of her. Please take the hurt and anxiety from my 5 year old sister who is having to try to understand this horrible situation. Please give my brother the strength he needs, as he is our backbone right now. God, please put your hands on the medical team that I know is doing everything they can to save my dad’s life.”
Intubation involves the insertion of a tube through the mouth and then into the airway so a patient can be placed on a ventilator.
In his Wednesday post, the 48-year-old Johnson said that both of his lungs were sore and that he was dealing with major fatigue. He was also having a hard time eating and had lost a lot of weight.
Johnson, who began to show symptoms on Friday, posted on Tuesday that his temperature had jumped to 98.3 and breathing continued to be an issue.
“I can still feel stuff breaking away in my lungs and that’s what hurts the most,” Johnson said.
Johnson is the father of Eli Johnson, an Ole Miss football player who plays on the offensive line for the Rebels.
The rest of his immediate family has been placed under quarantine.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 12:24 PM.
