Former Florida State Seminoles football coach Bobby Bowden is thanking his doctors, his family, and the many fans who prayed for him as he battled a COVID-19 infection.
“I want to thank all the many, many people who were thinking of and praying for me over the last few weeks,” he said in a statement released Wednesday. “I just went through a battle with COVID-19 and God just wasn’t ready to take me home yet to be with him.”
According to ESPN, Bowden was hospitalized Oct. 6, just three days after he tested positive for the novel coronavirus. He learned about the diagnosis shortly after returning home from a length stay at a hospital and rehabilitation center, where he was treated for an infection in his leg.
The 91-year-old Bowden went on to explain that his greatest priorities in life have been his family and his Christian faith.
“I have always said that the only thing you can take to heaven with you is your kids, and for 71 years of marriage, Ann and I have tried to live our lives and share our Christian faith with them so that, one day, we will all be there together,” he said. “But until that time, we are here on earth, and America is greatest country this side of heaven.”
“We have the freedom to pursue our faith in God, our dreams for our career, and our love for our families,” he continued. “For too long now, politicians in Washington have run American down and apologized for our greatness. I’m tired of it.”