After showing symptoms of the coronavirus two weeks ago, Pink and her three-year-old son Jameson tested positive for COVID-19. Now, in recovery, the singer is sharing her experience on social media, how she’s supporting the ongoing health crisis and helping to fight against it.
The singer told The Ellen DeGeneres Show the illness struck their home in mid-March, just as the coronavirus began to shut down schools and other public spaces. She explains, “At a certain point around March 18, March 19, March 20, when his fever was staying and going up. I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t breathe.”
Pink’s breathing became so difficult, she required the use of a nebuliser—a medical device that turns medicine into a mist one can inhale—”for the first time in 30 years.” In addition, Pink says she “couldn’t function without” the use of her rescue inhaler. “That’s when I started to get really scared,” the 40-year-old shares.
“Thats the point where you are just kind of like, ok are we going to the hospital? Like what are we doing right now? Because this is the scariest thing I’ve ever ever been through in my whole life.”
The singer first shared the news to social media earlier this week, writing: “Two weeks ago my three-year-old son, Jameson, and I were showing symptoms of COVID-19. Fortunately, our primary care physician had access to tests and I tested positive,” she began a lengthy post on Instagram, adding that they were re-tested a few days ago and the results were negative.
“It is an absolute travesty and failure of our government to not make testing more widely accessible. This illness is serious and real. People need to know that the illness affects the young and old, healthy and unhealthy, rich and poor, and we must make testing free and more widely accessible to protect our children, our families, our friends and our communities.”
In an effort to champion change, the singer pledged to donate $US1 million to support the healthcare professionals fighting on the front lines. Half the funds will go to Philadelphia’s Temple University Hospital fund in honour of her mother Judy Moore (who worked there for nearly two decades), while the other $500,000 will be donated to the City of Los Angeles Mayor’s Emergency COVID-19 Crisis Fund.
“THANK YOU to all of our healthcare professionals and everyone in the world who are working so hard to protect our loved ones,” Pink concluded her message. “You are our heroes. These next two weeks are crucial: please stay home. Please. Stay. Home.”
