He says: 'My body was shutting down, and I went into four seizures and each one lasting 10 to 20 minutes.' Photo: Bam Margera/Instagram
Bam Margera is lucky to be alive after surviving a serious case of Covid-19 in December.
The Jackass star, 43, detailed his brush with death on an episode of Steve-O's Wild Ride! podcast.
"I basically was pronounced dead on Elvis' birthday, Dec 8," Margera said. "I did not know that I had like gnarly Covid, my body was shutting down, and I went into four seizures and each one lasting 10 to 20 minutes."
He said he then went into a fourth seizure and bit his tongue so hard "it was nearly falling off." He said his tongue became so swollen and puffy, it wouldn't fit in his mouth. "I was drinking the infected blood which gave me pneumonia as well."
Margera said he then went to the hospital where he experienced a fifth seizure and had to be intubated. He said he "woke up five days later thinking I was there for a couple hours," but he ended up spending eight days in the hospital.
Margera's family shared the news of his health scare on Margera's Instagram page on Dec 10, writing: "Bam is on the road to recovery and thankfully will be discharged soon."
Hours later, Margera posted a photo and captioned it: "I'm out! Thank you to my friends, family and you for the love, support and prayers."
Steve-O, who also appears in the Jackass franchise, recalled seeing the TMZ story about Margera's hospitalisation with news he was on a ventilator and in critical but stable condition.
He joked that his first thought was, "Bam better not die, dude. He's going to ruin my tour. He's going to ruin everything."
But he clarified later: "I'm kind of being fun and funny and there's an element of truth to it... the most important thing is Bam's not dead."
Steve-O's "Bucket List" tour, a multimedia stand-up comedy act which showcases his crazy stunts on film, kicks off in the US this month before jumping over to Canada in mid-February.
On Jan 5, he announced on Instagram that Margera would be joining him on the tour and opening his shows running from Jan 20-29. – USA Today/Tribune News Service
