Reverend Jesse Jackson leaves rehab hospital after being treated for COVID and Parkinson's disease
Civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson left a Chicago rehabilitation hospital on Wednesday after being treated for Parkinson's disease following a breakthrough COVID-19 case, CBS Chicago reported. He spent nearly a month in treatment.
"Both my parents are ever so thankful for all of the prayers, cards and calls they have received during this very trying period of their lives," Jackson's son, Jonathan Jackson, said Wednesday in a statement, according to CBS Chicago. "We are also thankful for the excellent Northwestern Memorial Hospital medical team that treated our parents for COVID-19, and the professional and excellent therapy our father received while at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab."
Jackson, 79, and his wife Jacqueline Jackson, 77, both tested positive for COVID-19 in August and were treated at Northwestern University Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Jackson's civil rights organization Rainbow PUSH Coalition said on August 21.
After nearly a week in the hospital, Jackson was transferred to The Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, where he was treated for Parkinson's disease — a degenerative nervous system disorder that he was diagnosed with in 2015. Jonathan said the disease had come more "in focus" as his father's COVID-19 symptoms dissipated.
Meanwhile, Jacqueline was moved to the hospital's intensive care unit for oxygen treatments.
The two have now recovered from COVID-19, according to Rainbow PUSH.
In January, Jackson said he was fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but according to The Associated Press, his wife had not received any doses due to a pre-existing condition.
"We know it is a miracle that both of our parents are now COVID-19 survivors, and we thank God for his healing. We also pray for the millions of people who have been infected with this virus and pray they too will also overcome," Jonathan said in Wednesday's statement. "We also pray for those families who have lost their loved ones to the coronavirus and pray for their spiritual and emotional healing as well. Our father continues to stress the importance of being vaccinated, wearing masks and obeying the COVID-19 protocols including social distancing and the washing of the hands."