Pinehurst, NC – Hundreds of community members gathered for a barbecue on Thursday to raise money for a Moore County firefighter battling COVID-19.
John Wilson, who works for the fire department in Southern Pines, Aberdeen and Pinebluff, was recently released from the ICU after battling the coronavirus for more than a month.
Wilson, who tested positive for coronavirus on January 7 before spending more than 40 days in the ICU, is making progress, but still has a long way to go.
All the money raised during the fundraiser on Thursday at the Pinehurst Surgical Clinic will go directly to Wilson’s family to pay his medical bills.
Nearly 1,000 people attended to support the Wilson family.
Wilson, who measures 1.80 m and 90 kg, is affectionately referred to by residents of Southern Pines as “Big John”.
His wife, Jessica Wilson, said that in addition to hypertension, Wilson was a healthy man before receiving COVID-19. During his time in the ICU, Wilson suffered blood clots in his lungs. He was heavily sedated for weeks and lost 20 pounds before he was discharged from the ICU on February 25.
WRAL reporter Bryan Mims contributed to this report.