The mother of a college athlete who has spent over half a year in hospital due to COVID complications has said she wants people to be more aware of the disease and to take precautions.
Jesse Boshears, a 20-year-old college athlete from Arkansas, first fell ill with COVID in the summer of 2021. His health deteriorated to the point where he was admitted to Baptist Hospital in Little Rock at the start of July.
Since then, Boshears has endured seven months of critical care equipment including ventilators as he battles severe illness brought on by the virus.
There have even been points where doctors have told Boshears' family that he might not make it through the night, according to local news outlet THV11. But his mother, Shelly Vincent, remains hopeful.
"I want to keep my son here and I believe, I really, truly believe that he's going to make it through, even though it sometimes looks not great," she told THV11, describing Boshears as a young man with a "heart of gold."
"I want everyone to be aware about COVID and take the best precautions," she said, with one such precaution being that the whole family has been vaccinated.
The next step for Boshears is a transfer to Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center in Texas, where a doctor has agreed to accept the young athlete as a patient to further his treatment.
Due to the medical bills plus the costs of travel and living out of their home state, the family are now seeking financial support to help them through the next stage of Boshears' care.
A GoFundMe webpage has been set up to allow anyone to help out. Titled "Help for Jesse Boshears and Family," the crowdfunding campaign has gained just over $5,750 of its $50,000 goal as of Monday morning.
"100 percent of this money will be given to a wonderful family in need during such a very difficult time," the GoFundMe page reads. "Any amount is appreciated."
In an effort to raise money for the family, local musician Jason Lee Campbell is planning a big fundraiser titled "12 for $12,000" in which he will set up his pickup truck with a sound system at the Perryville Mustangs football field and play guitar for 12 hours straight or longer, taking song requests.
In a Facebook post earlier this month, Vincent wrote: "The outpouring of love and kindness has been amazing during this difficult time."
Other fundraising efforts recently reported by Newsweek include one for a man who was left paralyzed from the neck down after being hit by a wave and one for a hockey player who is fighting to regain movement in his legs following an accident.
