Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns says his mother has been diagnosed with the coronavirus.
Towns spoke about his mother’s condition in an emotional Instagram video Tuesday night, revealing she is in a coma and connected to a ventilator.
He said he was told early last week that his mother was not feeling well and that her condition began “deteriorating” over the next few days, spiking a fever as high as 103 degrees.
Towns urged the public to practice social-distancing and treat the pandemic seriously. He said he wanted to make the video to let people know that “the severity of this disease is real.”
“We can beat this, but this is serious and we need to take every precaution,” Towns wrote in the caption to the video. “Sharing my story in the hopes that everyone stays at home! We need more equipment and we need to help those medical personnel on the front lines. Thank you to the medical staff who are helping my mom. You are all the true heroes! Praying for all of us at this difficult time.”