Foo Fighters vocalist Dave Grohl paid a tribute to one of the front liners when he guested in Jimmy Kimmel Live via video call site Zoom, according to various sources.
The Tribute
The tribute made by Grohl was for Nurse TJ Riley. Riley was an employee of Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx who was infected with COVID-19 as a frontliner. Deadline reported that 60% of the employees of the hospital, including Riley himself, were infected but they are now being recovered from the virus. Before the pandemic, he was assigned as a trauma and emergency nurse at Jacobi.
Riley was also a big fan of Foo Fighters. Because of this, Grohl sang "Everlong" to Riley. "Everlong" is a classic stadium rock anthem from the band's 1997 album "The Color and the Shape." Riley did not hide his excitement and greeted Grohl and Kimmel in the Zoom video.
"Dave, I'm a huge, huge fan," he confirmed. "I'm going a little out of my mind right now. I think I'm having a coronavirus dream. This is crazy," he added.
Grohl thanked the nurse for his service during the pandemic. He also thanked Kimmel for "honouring such brilliant people for doing the right thing." Kimmel and Grohl revealed to Riley that they will give him $10,000 and was called "healthcare hero of the week."
About Grohl
David Eric Grohl was born on January 14, 1969 in Warren, Ohio. He moved from Ohio to Virginia when he was six. He formed his first band when he was 10 and became a drummer of the band Nirvana until the suicide of vocalist Kurt Cobain in 1994.
He then formed his new band, Foo Fighters, and he been the vocalist of the band until today. Grohl and the band won many awards including 11 wins from Grammys and five BRIT awards.
Grohl is married to TV Producer Jordyn Blum and had three daughters. He was also previously married to photographer Jennifer Youngblood.
Frontliners During the Pandemic
Aside from Riley, many other frontline workers have their own happy stories, according to TechTimes.
Dr. Cornelia Griggs posted on Twitter her life combatting the virus. The tweet earned support from Twitter users, including singer Missy Elliot. Griggs also posted videos to talk to her children about her situation. She is a pediatric surgeon at Columbia University Medical Center.
In Minnesota, Dr. Sarosh Ashraf Janjua, a cardiologist at a COVID-19 quarantine unit in Duluth, was pulled over for overspeeding by Brian Schwartz, a state trooper. Instead of a ticket, she was given an N95 mask for her safety, along with a warning her for speeding violation. She posted the officer's kind gesture on Facebook. Both Dr. Janjua and Officer Schwartz are frontliners and are essential in combatting the pandemic.
COVID-19 Update
As of writing, cases of COVID-19 in the United States has now reached a million mark with over 1,010,507 reported. Over 56,000 patients have died, while more than 139,000 recovered from the disease. Worldwide, the total has reached the 3 million mark, with more than 212,000 deaths, and over 934,000 recoveries.
