REGINA -- Warren Woods usually covers the competition, but for over a month, the Saskatchewan sports personality has been fighting for his life in a battle with COVID-19.
Woods, known for his coverage of the CFL and curling, has been in the Regina General Hospital since Nov. 30. His daughter, Nicole, who flew in from Ottawa days after he contracted the virus, said while he’s not fully mended, her dad is on the comeback trail.
“He’s doing better, I wouldn’t say that he’s out of the worst of it, but the trend is going in the right direction,” she said. “It has been hard. Especially during the beginning, when you can’t see or hold their hand because they’re in isolation, you just have to watch through the glass.”
Woods has recovered from the novel coronavirus, however, he is still facing an uphill battle against the numerous side-effects of the virus.
“He’s going to need a lot of help, just physical, occupational, even speech maybe,” said Nicole. “There’s a lot of unknowns in terms of how long it’s going to take, we really don’t know either.”
Tim Rogers is one of the 10 supporters in Woods’ corner who started a GoFundMe page to help pay for future expenses. Other supporters include CFL legends Ray Elgaard and Chris Best, and former colour commentator Carmelo Carteri.
“We started seeing that there was going to be a lot of help that he was going to need coming out of this,” said Rogers. “We were finally able to get the go ahead from [the family] to put this together.”
The GoFundMe page raised more than $50,000 in just four days, surpassing its goal.
“It’s pretty hard to make a Woods’ speechless, but we’ve been speechless. Really, I’m out of adjectives to describe how grateful we are,” said Nicole.
Nicole is also grateful for all the words of support her father has received online and over text message. She also has a message for others.
“Follow the public health guidelines, wear your masks, it can really upend your life in an instant.”
