Former skilled skater and infamous Jackass prankster Bam Margera claims he was pronounced lifeless in December after COVID and a collection of seizures left his life hanging within the steadiness. Speaking with former Jackass collaborator Steve-O on the most recent episode of the Steve-O’s Wild Ride podcast, the Viva La Bam star defined how he almost misplaced his life. Surprisingly, no wild pranks or harmful stunts had been concerned.
“Basically, I was pronounced dead on December 8,” Margera advised Steve-O throughout the January 5 episode, including, “I did not know that I had gnarly COVID and my body was shutting down.”
The 43-year-old former MTV star went on to clarify that he went right into a collection of 5 seizures, every of them reportedly lasting “10 to 20 minutes.””On the fourth one, I bit my tongue so hard it was nearly falling off,” Margera continued. “It got so swollen and puffy it wouldn’t fit in my mouth. I was drinking the infected blood, which gave me pneumonia as well.”It’s possible Margera implies that he aspirated the blood for his tongue, compounding the pneumonia brewing from a COVID an infection Margera wasn’t conscious he had. His fifth seizure occurred after he’d been admitted to the hospital, at which level he was intubated.
“I woke up five days later thinking I was there for just a couple hours,” Bam defined to Steve-O. “I spent eight days in there.”
Steve-O recalled fearing that Margera would not get better, involved that the intubation was the ultimate chapter of a downward spiral that had begun with the loss of life of Margera’s co-star and childhood good friend, Ryan Dunn. Dunn and one other passenger died in a fiery, high-speed automotive crash early on the morning of June 20, 2011. Margera and people near him have cited Dunn’s loss of life as the start of a darkish interval within the skater’s life that noticed him achieve weight, grow to be hooked on alcohol, and finally, be faraway from the forged of Jackass Forever after breaking a “wellness clause” in his contract.
At the time, this prompted strife between Margera and his co-stars, Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville, who had been additionally long-time associates of Margera’s. Margera even filed a lawsuit over his firing in August 2022, because the sobriety settlement hadn’t technically been damaged (Margera had been fired for taking Adderall, a substance which he had been legally prescribed for a decade).
But it appears all of that’s water below the bridge now, because the lawsuit was later settled, and the remainder of the episode options the 2 associates fondly sharing recollections of the various instances Steve-O visited Margera within the numerous rehab packages he is entered over time. The two additionally mentioned Margera’s present objective: getting again on his board. Margera has spent latest years abroad (primarily in Barcelona), visiting with associates, getting sober, and relearning to skate. Vice documented his efforts in a 2017 episode of the Epicly Later’d collection, which was not too long ago uploaded to YouTube.
“What happens is I twist my ankle or some s—, and then I’m out again, and then I have to re-learn everything,” Margera mentioned close to the tip of the episode. “It’s so frustrating.”
Ever the (considerably stunning) voice of purpose, Steve-O–who has overcome habit problems with his own–advised Margera to separate his self-worth from his skating talents.
“I would urge you to be very careful about tying your happiness, your self-esteem–like, y’know, your mental health–to your ability to skateboard,” Steve-O acknowledged, with Margera nodding in settlement.
