Ben Askren—Olympic wrestler, Bellator and ONE champion, even dabbled briefly in UFC and boxing. Well, earlier this summer, his life took a dramatic turn. The 40‑year‑old fighter from Wisconsin found himself not in the ring, but in a hospital bed, gasping for breath. Shocking, right?
Turns out, Askren developed severe pneumonia—so serious that he ended up in critical care on a ventilator and even on ECMO, which takes over your lungs’ work entirely. And get this: the root cause wasn’t a sudden bug—it was a staph infection that spiraled out of control. Suddenly, a well‑conditioned athlete was fighting for each breath.
By mid‑June, things were bleak. His wife, Amy, shared on social media that he might need a lung transplant—it wasn’t clear whether his own lungs would ever recover.
What’s a Staph Infection Anyway?
Hold on—what exactly is staph? It’s shorthand for Staphylococcus aureus, a common bacterium. Lots of people walk around carrying it on their skin or in their noses—no big deal, right? But sometimes, if it sneaks into deeper tissues or the lungs, it can cause serious trouble: skin infections, pneumonia, bloodstream infections.
In Askren’s case, the staph set the stage for a raging pneumonia. When staph gets into someone’s lungs, things can go downhill fast—fever, chills, a nasty cough, respiratory failure. Before you know it, ventilators are involved, and doctors are fighting to save you.
How Did Ben Askren Get a Staph Infection?
Around June 7, Ben Askren wife Amy first posted that Ben was hospitalized with severe pneumonia caused by staph. From there, things moved rapidly—put on ECMO and sedated, he couldn’t breathe on his own. By June 17, she noted he was showing tiny improvements—opening his eyes, giving a squeeze of the hand. But still, the future wasn’t clear.
Then on June 24, a life‑saver came: Ben was added to the lung transplant list. A few days later, on June 30, he underwent a double lung transplant. Amy broke the news with mixed relief and wonder—like, “We are so thankful… every new day he has is a gift.” She compared how fast things changed: one minute he was healthy, five weeks later he’s life‑threatened and on the table.
Four Times Flat: The Surge of Survival
Hold onto your seat—on July 9, Ben shared an emotional Instagram video from his hospital bed. He said he remembered almost nothing from May 28 to July 2. Instead, he read notes in Amy’s journal—the whole ordeal was like a movie, he said.
He also dropped this bombshell: “I died four times.” Yep, his heart flatlined roughly 20 seconds each time before being brought back. Yikes! But he pulled through—and the double lung transplant succeeded.
He lost about 50 pounds in 45 days—dropping down to around 147 pounds, the lightest he’d been since age 15. Now he’s learning to breathe, to talk, to walk again. And yes, every breath feels like a prize.
Amy Askren: The Unseen Hero
You can’t talk about this without talking about Amy. Married since 2010, the couple shares three children. Through those six brutal weeks, it was Amy keeping hope alive. She posted updates, rallied prayers, and thanked the donor family behind the scenes.
Her journal—what Ben read later—is more than a notebook. It’s their story: the shock of pneumonia, the decision for ECMO, the plea for a transplant, the relief when a donor’s lungs became available, and the first signs of wakefulness. She’s the one who held it all together—and if not for her, Ben’s story might’ve ended way differently.
Community Pours Love (And Funds)
As news spread, the MMA and wrestling world lit up. Dana White, Daniel Cormier, Henry Cejudo—they all sent messages. Social feeds filled with hashtags like #FunkyStrong and #FunkyTough. Even a t‑shirt campaign emerged to support his recovery.
An anonymous donor chipped in £368,000 (about $500,000!), enough to cover huge chunks of medical bills. Like Ben said, it felt like his own funeral—but the kind where people show up to say good things about you. All that love lit a fire in him—now he’s more determined than ever to help others, once he’s strong again.
What’s a Double Lung Transplant Like?
Curious how it works? Let me break it down:
ECMO support
During the worst, ECMO took over the job of both lungs—oxygenating his blood when his own organs failed.
Donor lungs found
That’s rare and timing is tight. But luckily, they matched.
Major surgery
Doctors removed both diseased lungs and implanted new ones. It’s risky—lots can go wrong.
Recovery
Weeks in ICU. Immune‑suppressing meds. Side‑effects. Infections to watch for. Physical therapy to walk, talk, breathe.
Ben’s on that path now
Learning to live with new lungs, rebuilding strength, and hopefully, getting back to coaching wrestling in Wisconsin—something he said he can’t wait to do.
Looking Ahead
Right now, Ben’s gaining strength slowly—still weak from muscle loss, but motivated. He’s got a long rehab ahead: breathing exercises, cardio, emotional healing. But he’s optimistic—calls it “the beginning of a new lifestyle.”
He says he feels like he had his own funeral—heard what people truly think about him. It lit a new spark in him to give back, to support the community that rallied when he was near the end.
And Amy? She’s beside him, writing the next chapters in that journal—one day at a time.
Final Thoughts
Wow, what a whirlwind. Ben Askren—wrestling star, MMA vet—hit a horror‑show of health issues in early June: staph infection → severe pneumonia → ventilator + ECMO → double lung transplant → near‑death moments → full fight back.
Through it all, he’s shown the same grit he had in the ring. He’s not just a fighter by birth, but by resilience. He’s alive, breathing, recovering—and ready to coach, to inspire, to give back.
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