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A North Carolina firefighter who has been in a hospital ICU for nearly four weeks with COVID-19 is slowly improving.
The mother of Corey Spencer, a Pinecroft Sedgefield firefighter in Greensboro, told WFMY-TV that her son alert and trying talk following surgery for a tracheostomy tube. She also shared a photo online of Spencer holding her hand.
A little over three weeks ago, Spencer, 26, began feeling sick while at the department's Station No. 24, but just thought he needed to take a break from work. Days later, he tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to the hospital.
While in the hospital, doctors had to perform CPR to revive him. He began improving, but Spencer wasn't hopeful.
"He said, 'I love you, but I'm going to die,'" Linda Spencer, Corey's mom, told WFMY. "And I said, Corey, you're not going to die. I said you are strong; you can fight this."
Spencer has been receiving support from the community, which has rallied around the Hulk, a character the firefighter has been a fan of since he was a kid. #HulkStrong T-shirts were designed by a friend to raise money for the family, and his fellow firefighters also have made bracelets and stickers.
"I miss him so much,” Linda Spencer said. “He is my rock; I am his rock."
