“To be able to sit and watch kids play a game. To watch my daughter play softball. To just be out there and coach, to talk with kids and people. I’ve got a new outlook because I almost wasn’t here.”
John Scanzano is a baseball guy, someone whose passion for the game is undeniable.
The head coach at King’s Christian School, Scanzano also owns an indoor baseball training facility in Cherry Hill and runs a highly successful travel program. He’s the one you’ll find raking the mound or setting up the batter’s box.
A 1990 Cherokee graduate, Scanzano has spent countless hours trying to make a difference in the lives of youngsters through America’s pastime.
On April 13, that life was nearly taken away. He found himself awfully close to death’s door.
“There was a divine intervention. No doubt in my mind,” the 49-year-old told NJ Advance Media. “The little things right now are different. It’s a precious gift to be here.”
To understand his story, you have to go back to April 1 - the day he received a positive test for COVID. Someone who admits he didn’t take it very seriously, Scanzano first started experiencing symptoms on March 27. Run down the laundry list and he had them all - loss of taste buds and sense of smell, tiredness and fatigue, headaches, fever, chills.
Once diagnosed, the King’s Christian program was shut down. Scanzano followed doctor’s orders - took vitamins, drank plenty of fluids. His doctor felt he would eventually be OK.
After battling COVID, King's Christian baseball coach John Scanzano was diagnosed with COVID pneumonia and came close to losing his life.
“I just had to push through it,” Scanzano said.
He spent 14 days taking all the necessary precautions, and on that 14th day woke up feeling pretty good. Scanzano called his doctor hoping to get the OK to get back into things.
“He told me to be careful because I was still in that window, but I went to the facility and started getting the helmets ready and stuff,” he said. “I felt it was over.”
SUDDEN CHANGE
Now at home getting ready for bed, Scanzano started having some breathing issues. He took albuterol in hopes of feeling better but just couldn’t fall asleep. Around midnight, he started coughing. But it wasn’t a normal cough, this was of the hacking variety.
“I had this crackling sensation from my throat down into my lungs, like that feeling when you had Pop Rocks as a kid,” he said. “I had a 102 fever, chills. I was coughing all night. At four in the morning, I Googled all the symptoms. Pneumonia popped up.”
Scanzano called his doctor at 7 and was soon on his way to Jefferson Hospital in Cherry Hill. The doctor wanted his oxygen levels checked through outpatient imaging.
It was discovered he had COVID pneumonia.
“When they looked at the x-ray, my lungs should have looked black,” he recalled. “They were completely white.”
Not soon after, two nurses took him into the ER. They hooked him up to oxygen and inserted an IV, blood was drawn and steroids pumped into his system.
“What’s going on?” he wondered. “Now I was starting to get a little nervous.
“The ER doctor came in and talks to me. He asks ‘if it should come down to the last resort, are you OK doing chest compressions? … Do you have a living will? … Listen to me. I don’t know if you understand the severity, but looking at where you are right now … This could have been hours to 24 hours from now.’ In 24 hours I could have had irreversible oxygen levels.”
Scanzano could have been dead.
Standing with Haddon Township coach Ryan Pavlik prior to Monday's game, King's Christian coach John Scanzano (right) has a new perspective on life after a recent scare with COVID pneumonia nearly killed him.
“I remember getting really scared, and I’ve never been really scared,” he said. “When he left the room, I had that conversation with God. ‘It was not my time. I have a daughter. Please, give me another chance. Please.’ I was praying for one more chance. I had too much left to do.
“If I had fallen asleep that night, if I had just taken Tylenol and went to sleep and woke up the next morning just feeling a little weird, I would have pushed through it because I wanted to be done with it. I just know I wouldn’t have called the doctor.
“Did I cheat death? I don’t know, but you cannot convince me there wasn’t someone looking out for me. No doubt there’s a reason I took that albuterol when I wasn’t supposed to.”
Scanzano’s oxygen levels went up overnight. He met with his doctor and things were looking better. After a day and a half in the hospital, Scanzano was sent home. He would be on oxygen for seven more days but his condition had improved dramatically.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
When this baseball guy took the field with his team to help kick off the 2021 season Monday at Haddon Township, there may have been no one who had a greater appreciation for life at that moment than Scanzano.
It will take a few more weeks to fully recover. He gets fatigued easy, carries a portable oxygen tank and won’t be hitting fungoes for a while, but Scanzano knows he’s extremely lucky to even put on his uniform.
A father and husband, Scanzano now finds himself looking to educate others on just how powerful COVID is. If he can help one person, it’s a success.
“I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. It was scary crazy and turned on me literally overnight,” he said. “I want to be a better man. It was definitely an eye-opening experience and I’m still upset with myself because I didn’t take it seriously. Things that stressed me out have become so minuscule now.
“I was very foolish, stupid. I didn’t think it was serious. I used to joke around. I was the guy who didn’t want to wear a mask. It was a straight slap in my face and I almost got taken out.”
Get our HS sports newsletter here
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.
Kevin Minnick covers South Jersey baseball. He can be reached at kminnick@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @kminnicksports
"stupid" - Google News
April 21, 2021 at 10:53PM
https://ift.tt/3gtUBQA
‘Very foolish and stupid.’ How COVID nearly killed N.J. baseball coach - nj.com
"stupid" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3b2JB6q
https://ift.tt/3febf3M
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "‘Very foolish and stupid.’ How COVID nearly killed N.J. baseball coach - nj.com"
Post a Comment