Morning Show Host’s Son Hospitalized, Premiere of New Program Delayed

San Antonio-based radio host Erik “with a K” (Erik Scott Smith) is thanking his Y100 family for their support after his 6-year-old son Ford was hospitalized.

Smith was set to launch his new morning show Erik & Jenny with co-host Jenny Lee on Cox Media Group’s country station “Y100” KCYY on Monday, May 5, but was forced to push back the show’s start date after his son was hospitalized at Texas Children’s Hospital with a mysterious illness.

“As you know, our brand-new morning show, Erik & Jenny, was supposed to be on the air this morning. Unfortunately, we have had to put the show start on hold,” a message shared to the station’s website on the day of launch read, per InsideRadio. “Late Saturday night, Erik had to take his son to the ER because he was extremely sick. He is still in the hospital, and the doctors are trying to determine what is going on. The good news is that they have ruled out a lot of bad stuff, but still don’t have a definite answer.

The statement continued, “Family always comes first, period. So, Erik will remain in Houston with his son until he gets better. Once Erik’s little boy is on the road to recovery, Erik will return to San Antonio, and we will kick off the new morning show with him and Jenny.”

Smith’s son was rushed to the emergency room on Saturday, May 3 after he experienced a high fever and a rash on his hands and feet, among other symptoms, the radio host revealed in a video update. Although doctors were able to quickly rule out several illnesses, Smith explained that they believed he could possibly be suffering from Kawasaki Disease, a rare childhood illness that causes swelling in the walls of small to medium-sized blood vessels, per the Mayo Clinic.

“The doctor said, ‘Listen, he could have this very rare disease. It’s called Kawasaki Disease. And if he wakes up tomorrow morning with a fever, on the fifth day with a fever, it’s officially Kawasaki and we’re gonna attack it,’” Smith recalled in another update. “And miraculously, I don’t know what happened overnight, it had to be the prayers of the Y100 family, he woke up with no fever and his rash was completely gone. His neck could move all the sudden, all the swelling had gone. It was incredible.”

Smith said doctors still aren’t sure what afflicted his son, describing it as “a fever of unknown origin.” As Erik & Jenny officially launched on Friday, he thanked his Y100 family for the outpouring of support during the difficult time, something he attributed to his son’s “incredible” recovery.

“All of the sudden my little boy, his name is Ford, he’s 6-years-old, he got very sick,” he said. “All of the Y100 family was praying for me and my family. Praying for my little boy. I just received an outpouring of love and prayers and kindness from these incredible people here in San Antonio. I’m brand new to this city…Everybody here has been amazing.”