“All hell broke loose” - Stephen A. Smith recalls nearly dying from COVID-19

Long-time NFL analyst Stephen A. Smith recently spoke about his battle with COVID and just how close it came to claiming his life. Smith was struck down last Christmas, despite being double vaccinated. He even ended up spending time in the hospital over the holiday period.

Smith has now spoken in depth about his experience and the damage COVID did to his internal system. He also stressed that he is lucky to be alive and credits the vaccine with saving his life.

Speaking on ESPN's First Take, the popular NFL analyst had this to say:

"Well, you know, in mid-December, man, I found out that I had COVID. And you know, don't get me wrong. I'm double vaccinated. I didn't get the booster shot. Because I was scheduled to have an endoscopy on December 16. And my booster was scheduled for the 15th. And they told me to hold off on the booster shot because I had to have the endoscopy."

He continued:

"Well, then, 36 hours later, I got COVID and COVID piggyback off all of that. But I was feeling okay for the first few days and stuff. And you know, Christmas Day. When I had to work, even I was working from home, I still had COVID. It really, really kicked in. The fevers were getting significantly worse or what have you."

Smith then went into depth about his symptoms:

"The coughs, the migraine headaches, all of that was true. And then all hell broke loose thereafter, man, every single night I had 103 degree fever or worse! The coughs were perfused. They told me I had COVID and pneumonia, rather, in both lungs.

"My liver was damaged. I was really struggling and labor with my breathing, etc. and, you know, it got so bad that they told me that, had it not been for my being vaccinated, I wouldn't be here."

COVID's impact on America

The deadly COVID virus, which is believed to have originated in China in 2019, arrived on US shores in January 2020. The virus brought the world to a grinding halt as countries across the globe went into strict lockdowns.

The estimated worldwide death toll now sits at 6.3 million, and just last month, the US passed the one million-death mark.

Sports are back in full swing, all be it in empty arenas and social bubbles. It is, once again, an outlet for the stresses of daily life, which had been heightened by the restrictions put in place.

Sports stars were integral in the drive to encourage society to get vaccinated. However, there are always others with different points of view like Kyrie Irving, Novak Djokovic, and Aaron Rodgers.

With the world now returning to normal, we can only hope that we never again experience a year like 2020.

If you use any of the quotes given above, please credit ESPN's First Take, ESPN and H/T Sportskeeda