As of Monday, Karl-Anthony Towns’ mother remained hospitalized with what is suspected to be COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Towns announced March 24 that his mother, Jacqueline Cruz, was on a ventilator and in a medically induced coma. On Tuesday, Towns’ college coach at Kentucky, John Calipari, said that Cruz remains hospitalized.
“I would say to everybody out there, Ms. Jackie, Karl Towns’ mother, is still in that hospital. She’s fighting, she’s there,” Calipari said Monday during a Facebook Live video. “We get updates, every single day we get an update from Karl Sr. about how she’s doing from the nurses at the ICU. Keep praying for her. Send her unbelievably positive thoughts. I just can’t wait until she gets out of that hospital.”
Karl Sr., Towns’ father, tested positive for COVID-19 and was self-quarantining.
“The strength that he’s shown for his teammates — and him being able to share is not just admirable, but it’s something that he should be commended for, the was able to bring more attention to safe practices and social distancing and doing the right things right now that are ultimately part of a solution,” said coach Ryan Saunders, speaking to reporters via a video conference Tuesday.
Towns announced his mother’s illness more than two weeks ago, saying she deteriorated quickly after fighting a high fever of around 103 degrees before the respiratory disease began impacting her lungs.
“They said that she went sideways and things had went sideways quick. And her lungs were extremely getting worse, and she was having trouble breathing and they were just explaining to me that she had to be put on a ventilator,” Towns said.
“We’ve seen this pandemic personified for us in the struggle that Karl and his family have been through,” Wolves President of Basketball Operations, Gersson Rosas said Tuesday. “Our prayers and thoughts are with them. It’s not an easy process for them as it is for a lot of people throughout this world right now.”
