A month or so ago, it looked like Rocky King might not make it. He was in and out of the doctor’s office, but no one could say what was wrong. Maybe acid reflux.
Then one morning, he woke up soaking wet and unable to see. He went back to the doctor. The doctor sent him home.
“I was dying,” Rocky said. “I could feel it.”
So he called the doctor and demanded help. Within the hour, Rocky was at Emory University Hospital Midtown, diagnosed with a rare kidney disease.
Friends, including comedian Jeff Foxworthy and Sean Hamilton, the kid Rocky inspired to become a community volunteer, rushed to his bedside. It was the first time they’d ever seen Rocky on the receiving end of someone’s benevolence. Usually it’s the other way around.
“From the moment his feet hit the floor in the morning, he’s trying to figure out how to help someone,” Foxworthy said.
That’s why efforts are underway this time around to help Rocky defray his medical expenses.
Even with a damaged kidney that needs dialysis three days a week, he was barking orders into the phone from his hospital bed. His emotions veered from glee to guilt. One moment, relieved he found someone on the other end of the phone. The next moment, frustrated because he knows but for his illness, he could just do it himself.
“In a world where so many are focused on themselves, he’s the complete opposite,” Foxworthy said of Rocky. “He may be the most selfless person I have ever met.”
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