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Former UFC fighter Ben Askren’s wife, Amy, revealed that her husband received a double lung transplant.
Askren has been in the hospital, which was treated with a serious case of pneumonia for several weeks. Amy Axre wrote that her husband was on life support for some time before she received the transplant.
She wrote on Facebook on Monday that her husband finally found one.
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Ben Askren stands in his corner ahead of his welterweight match against Demian Maia from Brazil during the UFC Fight Night event at Singapore Indoor Stadium on October 26, 2019 in Singapore. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“We are forever grateful for the donor and his family,” Amy wrote. “This is the beginning of a new lifestyle for legs, but every new day he has is a gift. It still doesn’t feel right that he was walking around completely healthy just 5 weeks ago. So much can change so fast.
“Keep legs in your prayers that his body welcomes the new lungs as if they were his own.”
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Amy said on June 24 that Ben was placed on the transplant list.
A donation page was created to help finance Askren’s treatment earlier this month, and it was updated by Amy nine days after it went live to say that Ben was on a fan.
She added that doctors were able to “wean his sedation enough for him to open his eyes and squeeze hands.”
Olympian Ben Askren points to the crowd as he enters the mat to meet colleague Olympian and New Jersey native Jordan Burroughs (not depicted) under the streets “grabbele at the garden” on Monday, May 6, 2019 in New York. (Danielle Parhizkaran/Northjersey.com)
“I’m constantly in awe of all the people who carry us through right now,” Amy continued. “I can’t wait to tell Ben all about it. I hope Ben in the coming weeks will be able to give the next update, but hopefully he will wait until the drugs wear off.”
Asken retired from mixed martial arts in 2019 after owning a 19-2 record. He fought only three times in the UFC and just won one of his matches.
In 2021 he also fought Jake Paul in a boxing match, where he was knocked out in the first round.
Paul recently said he is planning to donate to the Askren to help with medical bills after his recent fight against Julio César Chávez Jr.
Ben Askren is preparing to enter Octagon before his welterweight match against Demian Maia from Brazil during the UFC Fight Night event at Singapore Indoor Stadium on October 26, 2019 in Singapore. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Askren was also a wrestler and won two NCAA titles, while also representing the United States in the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.
