Former Bulldogs standout football player has coronavirus. His mom has stern warning for Fresno
The mom of former Fresno State football standout Travis Brown wants the public to know to take the coronavirus (COVID-19) seriously.
Mindy Brown revealed on Facebook on Sunday that her son is the fourth person in Fresno County to test positive for the coronavirus. County health officials say there have been six total.
Mindy Brown wrote that Travis Brown was hospitalized on March 14. “Travis’ condition was so scary that he was taken by ambulance to Clovis Community Hospital, which is staged and ready to combat the virus.”
He was released from the ER later that day, she said, and he was told to self-quarantine.
She also said “his sickness felt different than any flu or cold he’d ever experienced.”
Health officials in the central San Joaquin Valley have reported 16 coronavirus cases in Tulare County; six in Fresno County and five in Madera County.
Travis Brown took to Twitter to share an update:
“Man, the support has been overwhelming the last 24 hours since my mom posted on facebook. I appreciate everyone’s well wishes and prayers as I recover from home! They mean a lot to me. I’ve had a few scary nights with this but woke up today feeling less pain in the chest and breathing better. The doctors I have been in contact with are hopeful that I should be getting over the hump any day now.”
Mother’s message: Get serious, people
Mindy Brown said she drove past Target on Saturday and saw families walking in like a “normal day” and the Lowe’s parking lot was “full of women with kids loading flowers in their car.”
“Many of you are not taking this seriously,” she wrote.
“Travis and I felt it was our duty to share this information with you because many of you are not taking this seriously,” she wrote. “We all need to do better at this. You could be carrying this virus and not even know it.”
Brown prepped at Clovis West High before signing with Fresno State, where his father Dan was defensive coordinator. Travis never got to play for his dad, who died in March 2009 after a two-year battle with brain cancer.
In four seasons with the Bulldogs (2009-12), Travis Brown had 260 tackles and totaled 71 tackles in his senior season in 2012, helping Fresno State to a Mountain West Conference title.
Travis Brown is the BC Lions linebackers coach in the Canadian Football League and is under the care of the Lions’ team physician.
Mindy Brown knows first-hand what could happen if someone tests coronavirus and warns “there is nothing that can be done for you if you get this.
“We need to flatten the curve. I want to reiterate that this virus has brought my big, strong, young and healthy son to his knees. Which is where we all need to be, praying for not only God’s mercy, but for wisdom, strength and self-discipline to fight this.”
This story was originally published March 22, 2020 at 4:15 PM.
