Scott Radley: COVID-19 has left Nick Cordero with holes in his lungs

Hamilton actor Nick Cordero's month-long battle with coronavirus took on a troubling new challenge this week as doctors began treating two new infections in his chest.

While doing tests to find out how best to deal with the new health issues, they discovered holes in his lungs.

Due to COVID, Nick's lungs are severely damaged," his wife, Amanda Kloots, said in an Instagram post. They look almost like he's been a smoker for 50 years."

For a short while, things had seemingly been heading in a somewhat positive direction. A third test for coronavirus had come back negative the other day which meant the virus had finally cleared his system. Doctors were anticipating removing the ventilator he's been on for weeks and putting in a tracheostomy tube to be make him more comfortable. They were also talking about adding a feeding tube.

However, during the past couple of days, his wife says his white blood cell count dropped and his oxygen levels also went down. Doctors went into his lungs to clean out an infection and discovered the new problems.

It's almost like we can't catch a break over here," Kloots said.

That's hardly an overstatement.

After returning to New York from their new Los Angeles home late in March, Cordero became ill. The original diagnosis was pneumonia and two COVID-19 tests came back negative. But a third said he had the virus. By this time, the Westdale Secondary grad - who's done TV and become a staple on Broadway including earning a Tony Award nomination - was unconscious in the intensive care ward of Cedars-Sinai Hospital in L.A.

The list of issues the 41-year-old has faced since then has been long. Several weeks ago his blood pressure dropped, his heart stopped and he had to be resuscitated. He was put on a machine to do the work of his heart and lungs but that led to a clot in his leg that kept blood from getting to his foot.

Medication to regulate thin his blood and allow for better flow caused his blood pressure to drop dangerously low again, so it was stopped to save his life. But that cost him his right leg which was amputated just above the knee.

The sedation that had kept him in an induced coma was reduced, but he didn't wake up. MRI exams and CT scans found no medical reason he couldn't but he remains unconscious. Now this series of complications arrives to further complicate things.

He's literally been thrown every curveball he could be thrown," Kloots said.

She admits the latest news is scary and there are moments she's super terrified" but she insists she's not giving up hope.

It's the same with his mother, Lesley. She still lives in Hamilton and has to follow everything from home since she can't get to California under the current travel restrictions. That distance has made things particularly difficult. Yet, she remains optimistic and upbeat.

It's going to be a long haul, but I know he is going to survive this," she says.

What's truly blown her away is the worldwide response to her son's illness.

A GoFundMe page for Cordero has now raised $465,000 U.S. Every day at 6 p.m., people all over the planet - including Broadway casts, radio station hosts and E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt on his SiriusXM channel - are playing his song Live Your Life, dancing along to it as a show of support and posting video of their efforts on social media.

On Thursday, Kloots was interviewed on CBS This Morning to talk about the situation.

And she's getting hundreds and hundreds of messages from people encouraging her. She says she's expecting a miracle to happen because so many people have let her know about theirs.

I'm not giving up hope," she says. I am not giving up hope."

Scott Radley is a Hamilton-based sports columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sradley@thespec.com