Longtime Fresno State baseball coach Bob Bennett showing signs of improvement
Bob Bennett, the longtime Fresno State baseball coach who was in a coma last week, made some progress Wednesday when he was taken off a ventilator.
Bennett, 86, has been hospitalized since May 18 when he lost consciousness following a heart procedure to help prevent strokes (implanting of a Watchman device).
“He’s off the ventilator and he’s responding a lot more,” said Brett Prieto, a grandson of Bennett’s, on Wednesday. “It’s kind of funny. When my mom told him it was time to take his eye drops, he cringed because he hates doing eye drops.
“But it’s a good sign. Because he’s way more responsive right now than he had been. He’s improving.”
Family and friends initially worried Bennett wouldn’t regain consciousness. And if he did wake, they wondered if there would be any brain damage after his heart stopped beating for about 15 minutes prior to going into a coma.
But family members said Bennett is recovering well. He is expected to remain at Saint Agnes Medical Center for the foreseeable future.
“A testament to the power of prayer, positive thinking and an old man who is as tough as boot leather,” wrote Todd Bennett, one of the coach’s sons, on Facebook. “My dad came off the ventilator today after seven days.
“He has a lot in front of him and still needs all of your prayers and positive thoughts, but this has been a big day so far! Praise God!”
To help in the coach’s recovery, Prieto is asking people to send video testaments of what Bennett meant to them as a way to lift his spirits.
“During this whole COVID-19 era, we can’t see him,” Prieto said. “The only people who can see him are his daughter and his two sons. And, of course, his wife.
“We would all love to see him. ... Let him know that you’re rooting for him, that you love him and praying for him.”
Videos can be emailed to bmprieto10@gmail.com.
Deadline for video submissions is 6 p.m. Thursday.
This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 7:12 PM.
