Head swimming & diving coach at Chandler High School in Chandler, Arizona Kerry Croswhite, 61, is “fighting for his life” according to his sister-in-law Megan Jarvis.
Croswhite first became sick with fevers, aches and chills on June 22nd. After isolating himself in his home and administering over-the-counter remedies, he went to get a coronavirus test, whcih came back negative.
On June 30th, Croswhite told his family that “he knew it had moved into his chest and the cough was worsening,” while his blood oxygen saturation levels were dipping.
On July 3, he was taken to Banner Desert hospital, reluctantly, where testing showed that he had double pneumonia and was positive for the coronavirus.
His condition worsened in the hospital, and he was moved to the ICU on July 7. A day later, July 8, he was put on a ventilator. During that process, he went into cardiopulmonary arrest.
Medical staff was able to revive him and complete the ventilation process, and his condition has stabilized, though challenges continue. On Thursday, his potassium levels increased and he was considered to be in acute renal failure, according to his wife Laurie Croswhite, and has begun kidney dialysis.
Friday’s latest update to a carinbridge.com site being kept by Laurie Croswhite delivered good news. His nurses reported that Thursday night was his “best night” and he had no major negative event. While he is still on the ventilator, some of the other machines have been removed.
A GoFundMe page to help support the medical costs of this has raised over $26,000 as of posting.
Kerry Croswhite has been a coach at Chandler High School for 17 years, and is famous in the local community for playing the bagpipes at many of the school’s sporting events, including as ‘walkup music’ before his swimmers’ big races.
He has also been cited at least twice for saving swimmers’ life in pool emergencies (read more here).
The Chandler High School boys placed 11th at the 2019 Arizona Division I (big school) High School State Championship meet, while the Chandler girls tied for 9th. In 2017, the Chandler girls were the state runners-up. The high school is the alma mater of a number of college swimmers, including 2019-2020 USC co-captain Mark Jurek, who still holds 5 individual records at the school.
Prayers for a quick and full recovery.
Prayers are being lifted for you and your family, Coach.
Never forget: https://www.eastvalleytribune.com/news/coaches-quick-action-saves-high-school-swimmer/article_d4ebd6fd-7061-5e5e-a665-b3350c71d946.html
Damn. Thanks for posting this.
Thanks for the story, Braden.
Stay strong Kerry! Hope he gets well soon.