The South Side resident, at 33, said he had never been treated in the hospital and considered himself very healthy. But everything changed in November, when he was placed in IC because of COVID-19. He said he wasn’t sure when, and sometimes if, he would get out alive.
A Grammy-nominated singer, producer, and recording artist, Jeremih is used to making headlines for his songs and talent, not his health, and certainly not because he fought COVID-19 for his life.
“It’s very real,” he said. “I had to go through it and I would hate that someone else would have to go through it too.”
WATCH: Full interview with Jeremih, Chance The Rapper
Jeremih said days before he was hospitalized that he realized something was feeling on his body.
“When I think back, I knew I was dehydrated, and I thought maybe I had a cold, so I took NyQuil,” he recalled. “It wasn’t like I reacted to anything immediately. I knew something was wrong. ‘
From there, he said he could only remember waking up one night in the hospital, not sure where he was and what had happened.
His diagnosis was complications from COVID-19, and as a result, his body suffered from multiple inflammatory syndrome, a condition that causes major organs to become inflamed.
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My heart was beating erratically. My liver and kidneys were out. I can talk about it now because thank god I made it and I’m still here, but I was on dialysis. I was doing things that only I can remember me my grandparents talked about being so young, ”said Jeremih.
“They kept saying the numbers weren’t getting better,” he added. “I’m just like, when did my body get this bad? I’ve never had a problem with it all my life, 33 years! Just to have everything shut down, I’m just like, man.”
Jeremih said there were times when he thought about giving up. He wasn’t sure he could fight anymore. But he thought about his mother and his two sons and knew he had to keep pushing to survive.
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For some people, especially young people, the news that the beloved singer was in the ICU with COVID-19 was a wake-up call that made them realize the virus was real and serious.
“If I had to be the example I’ll take it because a lot of people might take it for granted, still partying and among their friends. It happened to me and I happen to be one of the few who made it, ‘he said.
The singer said he had to learn to eat and walk again in therapy.
“I was weak. I went in there with a probable weight of 220 and I left with 175. I’m like, I’m damn close to skin and bones,” he said. “I wouldn’t wish that on anyone to go through what I’ve been through.”
Now, he says, he feels much better and as he recovers, he is not alone; The probability that the Rapper fought with him every step of the way.
“This is one of my best friends!” Chance said. “The way you think about entertainers is like, they’re colleagues, this is my real friend. He knows my family, I know his family. So yes, we were all moved by it.”
The two artists are now back together with a new collaboration, with a joint album called “Merry Christmas Lil Mama: The Gift that Keeps on Giving” and a first of its kind holiday concert film called “Chi-Town Christmas”.
“The whole project is very, very Chicago. The concert was filmed entirely in Chicago, in an effort to get the Chicago film industry back to work. The Chicago Children’s Choir is in the movie. Very Chicago production,” Chance said.
At a time when so many are unsure of what the future holds, Chance and Jeremih hope their new projects will help restore hope.
“You have to keep fighting. You have to keep going through it. You have to recognize it as part of your journey that will later become your past. There are green pastures ahead,” Chance said.
“I had time to sit down and re-evaluate my whole life, my career and my purpose on this Earth,” said Jeremih.
Jeremih said he is grateful to Northwestern Memorial Hospital staff for their help in beating the virus. This year he lost his father and grandfather, making it an overall devastating year. But he wants to spend the next part of his life making his dad, grandfather, and the rest of Chicago proud.
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