COLLEGE PARK, Md. — After almost a month in the hospital, the father of former University of Maryland football player Ellis McKennie III was released after winning the battle against the coronavirus.
“Seeing him wheeled out like that was such an unbelievable moment for me and my family,” said Ellis McKennie III.
Ellis Jr., who was a former basketball player at George Washington University, went to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center on March 18th. He was first diagnosed with pneumonia. Once his health didn’t improve, Ellis Jr. was tested for the coronavirus. The results came back positive. The former Terrapin sent out a tweet with the news that his Dad had COVID-19 on March 23rd.
The doctors had to increase his oxygen because his lungs weren’t responding to any of the treatments. After a few days, doctors put him in an induced coma and on a ventilator. While in a coma, Ellis III, would wait outside the hospital every day. Due to coronavirus, the hospital wouldn’t allow any visitors.
“The nurses decorated his window with little hearts so I could sit outside and see which window is his,” said Ellis III.
Amazingly, after almost two weeks in a coma, Ellis Jr. woke up. He called home from the hospital and four days later, less than one week before his 52nd birthday on April 19th, he was released from the hospital.
“It was incredible," Ellis III said. "He was just a trooper getting up and walking to the car”.
The McKennie family says they don’t know how they're going to celebrate Ellis Jr.'s birthday but it will be one heck of a facetime call.
Ellis III played his last season with the Terrapins last year, earning 10 starts and was named an All-BIG-10 honorable mention for the 2019 season. He plans enroll in George Washington University law school if he's not drafted or signed to an NFL team.