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Joseph King Jr.'s world collapsed a few weeks before the rest of us were rocked by lockdowns and a global pandemic.
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It was February 23rd, 2020 when his phone rang just before midnight. No good call comes at that hour, so he was
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bracing himself when he answered, [music] but there was nothing that could have prepared him for what was said. His
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6-year-old son, Joseph King III, his JoJo, was unconscious and at the hospital. Now, there wasn't much more
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information for him at that time. This is all pretty recent, but he, dad, lives in Georgia and JoJo lives with his mom
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and stepfather in Texas, so he needs to get on the first flight out to be with his son. [music] Joseph is in knots as
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he makes the trip, and he still doesn't know much. [music] I mean, he had just FaceTimed with his son the day before.
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He was perfectly healthy and happy, pumped about starting baseball. Like, how could this possibly be happening?
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How could he be in the hospital now? Now, when he finally arrives at Children's Medical Center in Dallas
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[music] that next morning, it is even worse than he imagined. JoJo is not just unconscious, he is on
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life support. Doctors say that he suffered a brain injury from lack of oxygen, likely from being [music] stuck
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in a toy chest where his stepdad found him. >> Like a like a toy box thing? Like he
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climbed in and accidentally got stuck? >> That is what his stepdad is saying. Brandon Hale, the stepdad, says that he
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was home with JoJo when it happened. JoJo's mom, Jessica, basically left for a baby shower at around 2:30 p.m., and
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then at some point that afternoon, Brandon took this short nap, but he was woken up not too long after, just before
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5:00 because he got a text from his wife reminding him to give JoJo his medication.
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So, he said he searched the townhouse and he couldn't find JoJo anywhere.