Father of BYU Football player shares cautionary COVID tale of son's sickness
Marty Hoge, father of BYU offensive lineman Tristen Hoge, shared his son's experience with COVID-19 and pneumonia through Twitter on Wednesday, urging people to take virus precautions seriously.
Marty said his son tested positive for COVID-19 a couple of weeks ago, had minor symptoms, and recovered within his '10-to-14-day quarantine' to return to practice this week. Tuesday evening, Tristen started feeling sick again and spoke with his parents and BYU's medical staff.
They decided to test Tristen for some other problems, and he was diagnosed with pneumonia. Marty said it has 'affected (Tristen's) lungs severely.' Marty added that fortunately there is no fluid in his heart.
'Health is more important that football,' Marty said in the Twitter video. 'No one is more healthy than that kid. I know he does all the safety protocols: wears masks, social distances, lives by himself.'
Marty spoke to those who do not take the virus as seriously, admitting he was maybe one of those who thought it was 'just a cold.' He encouraged the school, team and fans at BYU to take it seriously.
'It's no joke,' Marty said. 'Don't take for granted what you've got and your health. Don't get upset when you can't go watch a game when you can watch it on television.'
According to Marty, his son should be back in a couple of weeks, but 'not until he's ready.' This would rule Tristen out for Saturday's home opener against Troy and the game against Louisiana Tech on Oct. 2.