At the Timberwolves Center in Minnesota, Karl-Anthony Towns said that some nights after he tested positive for VIDOC-19, his vital signs were not good, and that his underlying diseases and genetics sometimes saddled him with the virus.
Towns, who had missed 13 games in a row, returned to the field Wednesday for the first time since testing positive in mid-January. He admitted he wasn’t mentally ready to play his first game since January 13, but still finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 119-112 home loss against the Los Angeles Clippers.
I’m a high-risk case, Townes said, referring to his experience with the coronavirus. COVID treated me badly. A lot of scary nights. One of the things I said to my sister when I got COVID was this: I have it, and I don’t have a good version. I have a lot of COVID in me, but I’m going to fight and win.
Cities added : All those long nights of not feeling well, my vitals not being good and decisions to be made about my health, I kept [my family, niece and nephew] in mind. They encouraged me to keep doing things. As COWID continued to connect with my body, mind and spirit, I thought of her and my mother.
In addition to fighting the virus, Towns has been dealing with grief since his mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, and six other family members died from complications caused by COVID-19. Cities has already revealed in an emotional video that his mother is on life support and in a medically induced coma. Cruz-Townes died on the 13th. April at the age of 58.
When asked what aggravated his struggles with COVID-19, Towns replied that he had certain underlying conditions, although he did not go into detail, and he also said that between his parents, he was genetically more related to his mother.
You hear these stories where people get COWID, Towns says. And they say: Oh, four or five days I didn’t feel good, and then one day, magically, it turned around and I felt good. This has never happened to me.
Each person’s COWID case is totally different; each person and the underlying conditions are totally different. And my basic background has not worked in my favor at all at COWID, but one of the most frightening aspects for all of us in this organization and for my immediate family is the genetic relationship I have with my mother.
Nothing worked in my favor. I knew it would be a difficult journey.
After the death of his mother and other family members from COVID-19, Towns said he felt very guilty because he had been able to overcome his illness with resources he had access to that others might not have had.
He said I felt very guilty about the way I was treated. And I think it should be more accessible to Americans, to everyone in the world. I felt very guilty that I had been given something that could have helped me more, just to get better, to stay healthy, to stay alive. There’s always such mental tension, such guilt about the resources I have, and I’d like to share those resources with as many people as possible. Guilt, a lot of demons that I didn’t deal with, that I put on hold for basketball.
The 25-year-old also heard a chorus of NBA players speak out against the league’s decision to hold this year’s All-Star Game in a pandemic environment. He agrees with LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, who firmly believes there should be no all-star game this year.
Personally, I don’t think there should be an All-Star Game, but what do I know? The cities are flooded. I haven’t researched COWID, of course, so I’m sure someone has an idea. What should I know about COVID?
Towns said he realized he wasn’t mentally ready to return after a trip with the Timberwolves. He added that he wasn’t mentally ready to play Wednesday against the Clippers and that he hadn’t made contact on the court in nearly a month. But he wanted to be there for his teammates and coaches, who gave him support and space during his difficult moments.
Minnesota coach Ryan Sanders said Towns’ willingness to talk openly about his grief and experiences had a bigger impact than anything he did on the field.
Saunders said it took a lot of courage. Many people are dealing with grief and loss. You hear it, but until you experience it, you don’t realize that grief is linear. Everyone goes through ups and downs. Carl, in my opinion, did an incredible job of dealing with his weak moments to be a light to others.
Townsman admitted that there have been many dark moments in recent weeks when he has been isolated in quarantine. He said he only wanted the coronavirus destroyed.
I’ve seen so many things… Last year you probably would have said: That’s just it, Mr. Townes said. I can’t understand everything that’s happened in the world, but for me.
Let’s find a solution and come up with a plan to fix it.
COVID is a real deal, Towns added. She’ll never disappear. It hasn’t shrunk at all. She just got smarter.
