After spending the past few weeks battling COVID-19, Stephen A. Smith made his return to ESPN’s First Take on Monday morning.
Smith, who announced on Dec. 21 that he’d tested positive for COVID-19, spent the opening segment of Monday’s show detailing his serious battle with the coronavirus. The ESPN personality explained that he was hospitalized over New Years, suffering from a 103-degree fever “every night.”
“For me personally, it hit me differently,” Smith revealed. “You’re assuming that you’ll have a fever, might have a cough, gonna have that massive headache, but you’ll get over it. In a lot of cases that was the case. In my case it was totally different.”
He continued, “I had 103 degree fever every night. Woke up with chills and a pool of sweat. Headaches were massive. Coughing profusely. And it got to a point where right before New Year’s Eve, I was in the hospital into New Year’s Day. That’s how I brought in the New Year.”
Smith went on to express how crucial it is to get vaccinated against COVID-19, revealing that doctors told him if he hadn’t been vaccinated, he likely wouldn’t have made it.
“They told me, had I not been vaccinated, I wouldn’t be here,” he explained. “That’s how bad it was. I had pneumonia in both lungs. My liver was bad. It had ravaged me to the point where even now I have monitor my volume; get to the gym every day, walk before you run. Work your way back because I’m still not 100 percent with my lungs, but I’m COVID negative. I’m on the road to recovery.”
Watch Smith share his experience battling COVID-19 in First Take’s opening segment up top.