Sa gitna ng kinakaharap na laban ng buong mundo sa coronavirus pandemic, nagluluksa ngayon si Los Angeles Lakeres center Dwight Howard dahil sa pagpanaw ni Melissa Rios, ang ina ng kanyang 6-anyos na anak na si David.
Namatay si Rios,31-anyos dahil sa epileptic seizure noong Marso 27 sa tahanan niya sa Calabasas, California. “I’ve had some things happen in my personal life that has been difficult to really handle,” saad ni Howard sa video conference call. “My son’s Mom, she had passed away a month and a half ago and it’s extremely difficult for m to try to understand how to talk to my son, who’s 6 years old, just about the whole situation.”
Kasama noon ni David si Howard sa Georgia nang libutin nila ang 23-acre na property niya na naipundar mula sa paglalaro sa NBA. Plano rin sana ni Howard na imbitahin si Rios – na isang real estage agent and epilepsy advocate na mamalagi sa kanya kasama ang kanilang anak sa Georgia pero hindi na nangyari dahil pumanaw na ang dating nobya.
Ibinaling na lamang ng 34-anyos na si Howard ang oras kay David at apat pa niyang mga anak upang maibsan ang kalungkutan lalo na at nasa quarantine period ang lahat.
“Every moment counts,” ani Howard. “Be grateful for every situation that you have, just be grateful for life. I think we also take for granted the little things and just spending time with people and stuff like that. And you know after having all these situations, it’s like, reconfirming to me just stay in the moment. Always be grateful for everything you have, every little thing that happens.”