Ben Askren has released his first direct statement, on video, to fans since undergoing a double lung transplant yesterday.
The footage is, needless to say, shocking, with Askren revealing that he has lost well over a month’s worth of memory, and that he “died” (his heart having stopped) four times during his ordeal.
Askren was hospitalized in late May after contracting a severe case of pneumonia, initially being treated in Las Vegas before being transferred closer to home in Wisconsin.
Having referenced his wife’s journal, “I don’t remember anything from May 28 to July 2. No recollection,” Askren stated in a video posted to his social media channels. “No idea. No idea what happened. We’ll kind of go through it all, and I just read through my wife’s journal. It’s like a movie. It’s ridiculous.”
Askren then revealed the multiple brushes with death he has endured in recent weeks. “So I only died four times, where the ticker stopped for about 20 seconds. That’s not really going to help, you guys knowing that. But I got the double lung transplant, I made it out to the other side of it. Gaining quite a bit of strength. Learning to use everything again. I was actually on the scale yesterday, 147 pounds. I haven’t been 147 pounds since 15 years old. So that was like 50 pounds.”
“Man, that was a battle. Luckily I don’t remember most of it,” he continued. “The thing that was most impactful to me was the love I felt from everybody. It’s almost like I got to have my own funeral. I still remember, 30 years ago when Dave Schultz died, listening to all these older people recollect how much they enjoyed him, how much they loved him. And obviously he never got to hear that; I’m sure some people told him. So the outpouring of love from the wrestling community was just amazing. So yeah I’m more motivated to keep getting back and to do what I can and help out the best I can.”
A clearly emotional Ben Askren then added that “this has been tough not only on me but my whole family and my close community. So I appreciate everything,” before adding that he and wife Amy would hopefully provide a more thorough update down the line.
While Askren has a long road ahead of him and a vastly changed life moving forward, seeing him address fans directly is still a great sign.
