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Quinton Aaron is fighting for his life after experiencing a mysterious neck pain which prompted his wife to call for help.
“The Blind Side” star was intubated Friday and placed on life support due to a severe blood infection, his wife Margarita Aaron confirmed to Digital.
Doctors are not yet sure what caused the infection and continue to run tests to determine the root of the cause. While Aaron’s medical team said his status is “day by day,” Margarita remained optimistic about his prognosis and said her husband is “a very strong fighter.”
‘BLIND SIDE’ ACTOR QUINTON AARON DROPS OVER 200 POUNDS FOLLOWING NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE
Quinton Aaron is pictured here in 2023. According to his wife, the “Blind Side” actor is on life support due to a severe blood infection. (James Devaney)
“After the 911 call, we went to the hospital and the doctors determined to put him on an endotracheal tube because his breathing was a little sporadic,” Margarita said. “They’re continuing to run tests right now to find out what the root cause of the issue is.”
She added, “He’s still on antibiotics, blanket antibiotics to just cover whatever the issue might be with regard to his blood.”
The veteran is “making significant progress” each day with “little moments where he’s moving his fingers or trying to open his eyes.”
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“Although he seemed like he was a little lucid, he was not very responsive,” she said of a visit with Aaron yesterday. “I did at least get a thumbs up out of him when I chatted with him, which was promising. At this point, the endotracheal tube or the breathing assistance that he has is not doing all the work, thankfully.”
“Although he seemed like he was a little lucid, he was not very responsive.”
Quinton Aaron portrayed Michael Oher in “The Blind Side,” while Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw played Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy. (Jim Spellman/WireImage/Getty Images)
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“He’s doing some of the work as well, which is also promising. They’re going to do a bioluminescent MRI, so there will be more answers at that point as well.”
She added, “He’s a fighter; he’s a very strong fighter, and you know, he is making progress day by day, and I believe God’s got him, and he believes God’s got him.”
Aaron revealed to Digital in October that a medical scare prompted a complete lifestyle overhaul. He credited the near-death experience to receiving a wake-up call from God.
“He’s a fighter; he’s a very strong fighter, and you know, he is making progress day by day, and I believe God’s got him, and he believes God’s got him.”
“I had this come-to-Jesus kind of moment a few years back,” he remembered. “I was at this waterfront in Mandeville, Louisiana. This is like during COVID, 2021ish. And I used to always go there and sit and just meditate, listen to the water and stuff.”
Quinton Aaron revealed that he lost more than 200 pounds after a near-death experience. (Jason Davis/Getty Images; Courtesy of Quinton Aaron)
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He added, “There’s one day I’m sitting there on the wall, and I’m just listening to the water vibe, and then I wake up underwater. So I literally passed out, fell off the wall, and it was like a 12-foot drop, but the water was only three feet deep. I didn’t know that at the time. Well, thank God it was three feet deep, because I can’t swim.”
Aaron said he heard a voice encouraging him to stand up.
WATCH: ‘BLIND SIDE’ STAR QUINTON AARON SHARES HOW HE LOST OVER 200 POUNDS AFTER A NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE
“I literally woke up underwater,” he recalled. “I didn’t have a chance to take a breath and brace myself. When I woke up, I was submerged, and I just felt this pain on the back of my neck and shoulder from going down. But while I’m underwater, I hear this voice say, ‘Stand up.’ And so I stand, like I start trying to get to my feet. The water is pushing me into the rocks, and I’m kinda like hitting my head up against something. I don’t know what it was, but I can’t see, because the water’s dirty brown.”
He managed to climb out of the water and was rushed to a local hospital, where doctors conducted a full-body examination on him and discovered that he had an infection in one of his big toes that had spread to his bone. He later learned that his fall may have been caused by diabetic ketoacidosis, a complication from extremely high blood sugar levels.
“I was in the hospital for a few weeks getting IV antibiotics,” Aaron said. “I almost lost my toe, but thankfully I didn’t. They just cut a piece of it off, and it had to heal.”
Aaron starred as Michael Oher alongside Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw in the ’09 hit “The Blind Side.” The movie was inspired by the real-life story of a Tennessee family that took in and adopted Oher, who would later have a career in the National Football League (NFL).
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Digital’s Larry Fink contributed to this report.
