TV actor and Broadway vet Nick Cordero has been making all kinds of headlines recently, though unfortunately not for entertainment-based reasons. After being diagnosed with COVID-19, he spent nearly a month in a coma, having had his leg amputated, and he faced several other serious health issues. Thankfully, his wife Amanda Kloots recently revealed that Cordero had regained consciousness and was back on the slow road to recovery. Unlike many others, though, Cordero's eventual "Code Rocky" moment was celebrated by none other than Rocky himself, Sylvester Stallone.
Amanda Kloots shared an ecstatic message on Instagram, which contained a video of Sylvester Stallone addressing Nick Cordero's recent health crisis, and championing the actor for holding on. In Stallone's words:
Obviously we’ve never met, but I only hear great things about your work, and that you’re just a born star. I also heard about your tragic situation, and that’s something I can’t even fathom, what such a talented man as you are is going through. But obviously you have an incredibly loving wife, and a beautiful child, and I know to have gotten as far as you have gotten, you got what it takes. You have that eye of the tiger, you have that talent, you have that will.
For those unaware, healthcare workers across the country adopted "Code Rocky" as an affirmative notification for when COVID-19 patients have recovered enough to leave the hospital. When such messages are announced in various hospitals, doctors and nurses temporarily line the halls as patients get wheeled out, and more often than not, it's Rocky's empowering theme accompanying the patients' departures. As such, Sylvester Stallone is clearly the most logical celeb to share such a complimentary message.
Naturally, Sylvester Stallone inserted his own Rocky reference into the video by telling Nick Cordero he has the "eye of the tiger," recalling the theme song used in Rocky III. The fact that "Eye of the Tiger" was crafted by the band Survivor is certainly fitting for these circumstances, too.
Sylvester Stallone continued with his message, saying:
You’ve been dealt a horrible hand, a tough one, and it takes a strong, strong man and a strong family to override that situation. To take it and throw it back into life’s face and say, ‘Guess what? It’s gonna take more than that. I’m the man.’ And you are the man. You’re a role model for other people that have to overcome incredible odds. So all I can say is, keep punching. You’re the man.
Nick Cordero likely won't be up for handling any physical punching for the near future, of course, but that kind of support will likely be welcomed during the recovery process. The actor's chances of survival seemed fairly grim during his extended comatose state, as complications kept arising, from the leg amputation (due to blot clotting) to holes forming in his lungs and more. Through it all, wife Amanda Kloots kept her faith up and regularly provided updates for friends, family members and fans to keep up with. And thankfully, all that optimism paid off, with Rocky Balboa himself there to metaphorically raise Cordero's arm in victory.
You can check out Sylvester Stallone's full video message to Nick Cordero below.
In the scheme of things, it's awesome that Sylvester Stallone gave his time to making this video ahead of responding to Anthony Hopkins' TikTok dance challenge. While waiting to hear more updates from Nick Cordero's wife, check out all the great TV shows heading to the small screen soon with our Summer 2020 TV premiere schedule.
