Overview

• Askren returned to the hospital after doctors spotted potential infection at his chest tube during his first post-discharge check-up.
• Medical staff have initiated antibiotic therapy and scheduled imaging to evaluate the suspected infection around his transplant site.
• He had been discharged home on July 21, three weeks after undergoing a double lung transplant on June 30.
• The 41-year-old former UFC fighter and Olympic wrestler needed the transplant following severe pneumonia from a staph infection that required ventilator and ECMO support.
• His case highlighted critical ECMO machine shortages and left a six-figure treatment gap that was covered by donations from the MMA community.