The Blind Side star Quinton Aaron is opening up about a frightening medical emergency that left him paralyzed from the waist down and fighting to recover.
Aaron said he suffered a spinal stroke and pulmonary embolism after an infection spread through his bloodstream and reached his spinal cord and lungs.
The actor said the ordeal left him unable to move his legs.
“I was completely paralyzed from the waist down,” Aaron told Us Weekly.
He was rushed to the hospital and later spent about a month intubated after falling into a coma.
Since then, Aaron has been working through a difficult recovery.
He said he has had to relearn how to speak and is still trying to regain his normal voice.
“[I’m] getting my voice back, which is cool,” he said. “I didn’t sound like myself before.”
Aaron is also trying to rebuild enough strength to walk again.
He said the medical emergency took a major toll on his upper body strength, making even basic movements difficult.
“Because all my upper body strength has gone away since this incident happened, it’s very hard to even sit up in bed without support,” he explained.
Aaron said he is now doing strength training in hopes of eventually being able to support himself with his arms, upper body and core.
There have also been encouraging signs.
Aaron said doctors told him there is a possibility that he could regain more movement because he can already move some joints and still has feeling in his legs.
“With my leg movements, [the doctors] have said there is a possibility of recovery because you can move some of your joints and you can feel,” he said.
He also credited his decision to seek medical help that night with possibly saving his life.
“Thank God I decided to go to the hospital that night, or else we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now,” Aaron said.
But his health crisis was not the only shock he faced.
Aaron also claimed that while he was hospitalized, he discovered his wife was still legally married to another man.
He said he has not spoken to her since.
Aaron admitted that during his hospitalization, he struggled with depression, anger and other intense emotions.
Eventually, he said, he decided he needed to cut her out of his life so he could focus on healing.
“In order for me to move forward, I needed to completely remove her from my life,” he said.
Aaron added that he has since forgiven her and is trying not to let anger interfere with his recovery.
The actor said he wishes her well and hopes she gets the help she needs.
For now, Aaron remains focused on regaining his strength, mobility and independence after a medical emergency that changed his life.
I wish him a complete recovery.