Amanda Kloots has been told four times that Nick Cordero won't survive: 'But he has'

Christi Carras
·4 min read
Amanda Kloots and Nick Cordero
Amanda Kloots has offered another update on husband Nick Cordero's condition. (Getty Images for Beyond Yoga)

It's been more than 90 days since Broadway star Nick Cordero was admitted to the hospital after contracting COVID-19. His wife, fitness instructor Amanda Kloots, has been told Cordero "won't survive" four times: "But he has."

Appearing Thursday on "CBS This Morning," Kloots offered the latest update on her husband, who has suffered several setbacks throughout his rocky coronavirus journey, including multiple lung infections and a leg amputation. In May, Cordero awoke from a medically induced coma at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, but his "body is extremely weak" and his "muscles have atrophied," according to Kloots.

"He can still open his eyes, and when he is alert and awake, he'll answer commands ... When I'm asking him, he will even try to smile," she told anchor Gayle King. "I call it the vicious circle or the ICU dance because you just feel like you're in this momentum of going around, around, around like a hamster wheel, and I just want to get us out of the hamster wheel."

As for how much Cordero understands about his own situation, Kloots says, "That is really hard to try to gauge." But she has made him aware of the leg amputation and updated him on her research on "amazing prosthetics" and conversations with amputees "to try to give him encouragement."

"I tell him, I say, 'You're gonna walk out of this hospital, honey. I believe it. I know you can,'" she said. "'We're gonna dance again. You're gonna hold your son again.' My line is, 'Don't get lost. Get focused.'"

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It’s day 90. ⠀ I want to give a huge shout out to the Health Hero’s that are taking care of my husband. Ninety days of extraordinary care and when he was COVID positive they were risking their lives to save his. ⠀ I sit in the hospital and watch the nurses monitor every machine, fix all his lines, watch his levels, turn him, bathe him, attend to his dressings, administer medicines and then ask ME if I need anything...water or crackers?!?! They are absolutely incredible and Elvis and I will always be grateful. ⠀ In efforts to give back Anna and I created a business, @hooray.for, and are giving 50% of the proceeds from the Health Hero’s and Life t-shirt designs to help COVID response. This virus is a real thing and needs to be taken seriously and stopped. We will always do what we can to support that 🤍. We are proud to partner with @bunlimited - a water-based screen printing company that assists in design, prints, and fulfills all our orders!

A post shared by AK! ⭐️ (@amandakloots) on Jul 1, 2020 at 12:22pm PDT

Despite her signature optimism — which radiates from her Instagram page as she updates 354,000 followers on Cordero's condition almost every day — Kloots admitted she's had her share of breakdowns as she continues to care for their 1-year-old son, Elvis.

"Don't get me wrong — I have my days, but I have to stay determined," she said. "I came home the other day really feeling exhausted and sad, and I let it out. I screamed and I cried in front of my parents. You have to have those days. You have to break down. That's only natural."

Earlier this week, Kloots took a moment to thank the "healthcare heroes" who have been tending to her and her husband for months with "extraordinary care."

"I believe, Gayle, that God is the only person that's going to decide ... when and if my husband goes," she said on Thursday. "He's fighting. I see it every day. Nick's doctor sees it. And as long as he's in there and fighting, I'll continue to fight with him."