Calipari says KAT’s mother remains in the hospital, asks fans for prayers

Two weeks ago, former Kentucky star Karl-Anthony Towns announced his mother, Jacqueline Cruz, was not only diagnosed with COVID-19, but had since been placed in a medically induced coma. In our first public update since that announcement, UK head coach John Calipari told fans "Ms. Jackie" was still fighting for her life in the hospital. "Ms. Jackie, Karl-Anthony Towns' mother, is still in that hospital fighting. She's there," Calipari said in a Facebook Live video stream Monday evening. "We get updates, every single day we get an update from Karl Sr. about how she's doing from the nurses at the ICU." Most importantly, Calipari asked fans to continue to pray for her and send positive thoughts her way during this difficult time. "Keep praying for her, send her unbelievably positive thoughts," the Kentucky head coach said. "I can't wait until she gets out of that hospital. It's been a tough road." At the time of Towns' original announcement, the Minnesota Timberwolves star said his mother’s condition slowly began to deteriorate as each day passed, with her temperature reaching as high as 103 degrees and falling no lower than 101.9 degrees with medicine. “She was very uncomfortable,” he said. “Her lungs were getting worse, her cough was getting worse, she was deteriorating. … One day she was feeling great, we talked, and she felt she turned a corner. I thought she turned a corner. … Then they said she went sideways, things went sideways quick. Her lungs were getting extremely worse, she was having trouble breathing. They explained to me that she had to be put on a ventilator.” Just a few short days later, Cruz was placed in the medically induced coma. “It’s difficult, very difficult to say the least,” the former Wildcat said. “She’s the head of our household, she’s the boss. She’s been in a medically induced coma since that day. I haven’t talked to her, obviously can’t communicate with her. I’ve just been getting updates on her condition. It’s rough.  … We’re going to keep fighting, me and my family. We’re going to beat this, we’re going to win.” At the end of the day, Towns remains optimistic that his mother will pull through. “My mother is the strongest woman I know,” Towns continued. “I know she’ll beat this. And we’re gonna rejoice when she does.” If you missed the former Wildcat's original announcement, you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/0kwI3Pl85Vc Keep fighting, Ms. Jackie.