Ice-T Says His Father-in-Law's Lungs Are 'Damaged Indefinitely' After Contracting COVID-19
Ice T's father-in-law is on the mend after contracting the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
The rapper and Law & Order: SVU actor made a virtual appearance on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, where he gave an update on his wife Coco Austin's father's health condition.
"Coco's dad is a Harley Davidson-riding, no-masking type of dude," he said. "[Coronavirus] put him on his back."
Last month, Ice-T revealed that Austin's father Steve had been hospitalized in Arizona due to the coronavirus. He said his father-in-law had pneumonia in both lungs, and was almost put on a ventilator.
"It took him a month to make it out of the hospital," he told Jimmy Fallon. "Now he's home, but his lungs are damaged indefinitely."
While the family is thankful that Steve's health is improving, Ice-T said he shared the news of his father-in-law's condition on social media to help bring awareness to the seriousness of the virus.
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"There are still non-believers," he said. "I've made it through so much in my life, I don't want to die because of this — especially with a new daughter. I'm aware and I'm concerned and I'm cautious."
Austin previously opened up about how much of a toll watching her father battle the coronavirus took on her family.
"It's like, 'Oh my God, like, my family is falling apart,'" she told Page Six in early July. "To know that the most healthy person in this family is about to go on a ventilator, they're talking about that, which is really hard because I'm pretty much the next of kin. I have a really big family and they put it in my hands to make these decisions, so it's been really hard to have to even talk about."
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On Instagram, Austin shared family photos of herself with Steve, calling her father "tough as an ox" and adding that the diagnosis came as a surprise since he "never EVER gets sick."
A post shared by Coco (@coco) on Jun 30, 2020 at 4:49pm PDT
"My, tough as an ox dad, the one that never goes to the doctor, the one that doesn't even take tylenol for pain, the one that never EVER gets sick, [we're] talking about the original Steve Austin (cuz thats his real name) is in the ICU requiring oxygen for #covid19," she wrote on June 30. "He is having trouble breathing and feels like he is being stabbed with pins throughout his body."
"For all the people that say it can't happen to your family..think again," she continued. "Sending happy thoughts to my father and all the families that are dealing with it."
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