Love and prayers have surrounded a Moore County firefighter who spent six weeks in the ICU with COVID-19.
John Wilson, who currently works for Southern Pines Fire Department, has served at three fire departments over the years.
At 6 feet 3 inches and 240 pounds, Southern Pines residents call him "Big John."
"We can be out on an incident scene and there's always someone who comes up and says, 'hey Big John! How are you doing?'" described Fire Chief Mike Cameron.
On Jan. 7, Wilson tested positive for coronavirus. First came the high fever and cough, then Moore Regional Hospital. Within two days, Wilson was in the ICU on a ventilator. "We don't understand still," said his wife Jessica Wilson. "[We] just have no idea."
Jessica Wilson said other than a little high blood pressure, John Wilson was a healthy man. But he ended up spending 40 days in the ICU.