Overview

• Askren recounts how a small staph infection entered his bloodstream and caused necrotizing pneumonia that destroyed his lungs.
• He was placed on a ventilator and ECMO, spent roughly 45 days in a coma, and suffered multiple cardiac arrests before doctors deemed a double lung transplant his only option.
• The transplant took place in late June, after which he began a slow recovery marked by significant fatigue and limited daily capacity.
• Askren says he lost about 50 pounds during hospitalization and remembers nothing from May 28 to July 2, relying on his wife's journal to fill in the gap.
• He publicly thanked Jake Paul and Dana White while emphasizing the contributions of more than a thousand donors, and he noted his wife shielded their children from the worst of his condition.