Hartland native Ben Askren, a former Olympic wrestler and mixed martial arts champion who has been hospitalized with a severe case of pneumonia for the last several weeks, has received a double lung transplant.
His wife, Amy Askren, confirmed the health update in a Facebook post on Monday, June 30.
“Please keep Ben in your prayers that his body welcomes the new lungs as if they were his own,” she wrote.
Askren was admitted to the hospital in early June and was not responding “to anything” at the time, Amy first said on her Facebook page June 7.
She said Ben’s case of severe pneumonia “came on very suddenly.”
Ten days later, Amy wrote on social media that Ben may need a lung transplant as he continued to need a ventilator and ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). She added, at the time, his body couldn’t handle coming off sedation too much.
Askren, 40, now has new lungs and his recovery continues.
“We are forever thankful to the donor and his family,” Amy Askren wrote. “This is the beginning of a new lifestyle for Ben, but every new day he has is a gift. It still doesn’t feel real that he was walking around completely healthy just 5 weeks ago. So much can change so quickly.
“I am constantly in awe of all the people carrying us through right now. I can’t wait to tell Ben all about It.”
Amy Askren added that she’s hopeful that, in coming weeks, her husband will give the next update.
“But hopefully he will wait until the drugs wear off,” she added, providing some humor in what has been a trying time for the family.
Askren won two WIAA state wrestling championships at Arrowhead High School, first in 2000 as a sophomore and in 2001 as a junior. He then went on to have a standout college career at Missouri, where he captured two national titles with a combined 87-0 record in his final two years.
Askren then competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics for Team USA before starting a career in MMA. He also had three fights in UFC and competed in a high-profile boxing match against Jake Paul in 2021.
He founded the Askren Wrestling Academy with his brother, Max, in 2013 for young wrestlers and has since opened several locations across the state.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Hartland native, former Olympic wrestler Ben Askren receives a double lung transplant as he battles severe pneumonia
Reporting by Christopher Kuhagen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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