Former NBA star Cedric Ceballos is on the road to recovery after spending weeks in the hospital battling COVID-19.
Ceballos announced his coronavirus diagnosis in late August when he posted on Instagram that his inaugural golf charity event for the Cedric Ceballos Foundation had to be postponed, theGrio previously reported.
“I am out of the hospital and currently resting @ home,” he wrote at the time. “Hopefully, I will get back to the best of health and quick recovery. When we have new dates we will post, thank you for your understanding and God bless.” A day after posting this message he was reportedly back in the hospital.
As reported by TMZ, the NBA Dunk Champ suffered breathing issues while in the ICU for 10 days. Earlier this month he posted a photo of himself with an oxygen mask on — saying COVID was “kicking my butt”.
On Tuesday, Ceballos thanked fans for sending love and support while he was ailing, and also the medical professionals who treated him.
“Hello everyone, after 20 straight days on death row, through his grace and your well wishes and prayers, I AM HOME,” Ceballos said on his social media. “I can not thank each and every one of you enough for your help. The doctors and nurses did a great job especially in my darkest days, when I needed that extra push.”
Ceballos added, “There are two things that get you through something like this whether you were vaccinated or not. 1, your will to fight and want to live and 2, your health care, because you are treated way different if you are covered, than not.”
“Thanks again everyone and I will see you soon….”
The 52-year-old played small forward for the Phoenix Suns for most of his career from 1990 to 1994 and again in 1996 to 1998 after a short stint with the Los Angeles Lakers.
After initially announcing the severity of his COVID illness, Ceballos received well-wishes from supporters across the nation. The NBA shared his story on their official Twitter page, writing, “Members of the NBA family are keeping Cedric Ceballos in their thoughts as he courageously battles COVID-19. We wish Cedric a full and speedy recovery.”
Fan pages for both the Suns and Lakers shared messages of support, as did several NBA stars. “Praying for former Laker Cedric Ceballos!!” Lakers legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson wrote.
In related news, theGRIO previously reported that research from earlier this year shows that 1 in 4 doctors are attacked and harassed on social media in the era of COVID-19. Their efforts to help have been spurned.
According to the American Medical Association, 96% of U.S. doctors are vaccinated, meaning that the majority who advocate vaccination are actually practicing what they preach. While many of these doctors who are on #medtwitter have gotten their share of threats and harassment, for Black doctors who are trying to reach their own vulnerable communities, the pushback is particularly sharp.
According to a study about online conspiracies on Twitter, in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, people tend to believe the first message they encounter. Tweets with misinformation tend to have more negative messaging around them.
Black doctors remain a minority in a field of medicine, comprising only approximately 5.4% of doctors in the U.S., despite the Black people making up 13% of the population, which makes their efforts to reach Black communities even harder.
This story contains additional reporting from theGRIO’s Biba Adams and Natasha S. Alford
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