About 14 years ago – just months after I had signed Herman Cain as a columnist for my newly born North Star Writers Group syndicate – I got a phone call from him. He told me he’d been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, and that he’d be going through treatments.
He also told me not to worry: Somehow he would keep up on his weekly columns per his contractual commitment to the syndicate.
I told him the last thing he needed to worry about was that. I told him to focus on his treatments and getting well, but I didn’t know him as well then as I know him now. It’s part of who he is to keep giving his best, no matter what he’s facing. That’s how he became so successful in business, and that’s how he rose to such prominence as a leader in our national political conversation.
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Now, understand: It was a punch in the gut when I got the call last night that Herman had tested positive for COVID-19. His executive assistant Lisa Lisa gave the news that he’d been taken to the hospital and that he was having trouble breathing. We all prayed for him, right then, right there. And we continued to do so throughout the evening.
In the morning we started getting better news, particularly the fact that he hadn’t required a respirator. That was probably the one detail we were praying about the most, and God was gracious.
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She also told me he had his cell phone in the hospital with him. Now that sounds like Herman! He’s probably keeping an eye on the latest news and forming ideas for columns I can expect him to send me at around 3:45 a.m. on a random morning.
But let’s not sugarcoat it: COVID-19 is a horrible thing to experience, and while we are sure Herman will beat it just like he beats everything, he really needs prayer right now. He’s 73 years old and just about as healthy as anyone I know, but this is really going to require all of his strength, and plenty of God’s help.
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Herman will be fine. We’re also confident of that. But please lift him up in your prayers, as well as his wife Gloria and their family for strength and encouragement in getting through this.
By the way, since I know there will be questions: We honestly have no idea where he contracted it. I realize people will speculate about the Tulsa rally, but Herman did a lot of traveling the past week. I don’t think there’s any way to trace this to the one specific contact that caused him to be infected. We’ll never know.
You all know the Herman you see on TV, or hear giving speeches, or whose columns you read. You know of his love of our country and his passion for ideas and solutions. You’ve heard much of what he’s shared of his own life experiences.
We know the guy who’s led this team with focus and determination through plenty of highs and lows, and has been extremely good to all of us throughout the whole thing. He’s our boss. We love him. Ask God to take good care of him today.
Thank you.
