Lex Luger Details Terrifying Night That Left Him Paralyzed

Luger was preparing for an appearance in San Francisco and decided to squeeze in one last intense workout before catching a red-eye flight. I had to get in that one last heavy workout and shower and run to the airport for an overnight red-eye flight from Atlanta into Frisco. I get in at like midnight or something. So I got in a heavy shoulder trap and neck workout, which they say may have been a factor, might not. So that was my last heavy workout ever.

Everything seemed fine until he boarded the plane and felt an unusual pain. I was on the airplane, I was talking to somebody next to me and my head turned right after that workout. I turned my head back. This is just my theory. The neurologists arent sure that this had anything to do with it, but I kind of feel like it did, and they think it might have. I turned my head back to the front and I had this burning, stabbing pain between my shoulder blades. But football, wrestling, we get aches and pains, little pinched nerves all the time. So I go, man that didnt feel good, that didnt feel right.

After arriving in San Francisco, things took a terrifying turn. I got to the hotel, I checked in, and I woke up, Im not sure what time it was. It was just pre-dawn, and I had the worst burning, stabbing pain in my lower neck, shoulder blade area, unbelievable. It was so bad. Im a side sleeper. I was on my side towards the nightstand, and I was trying to get to a phone, so I figured maybe Id get to the phone like a seal hit it with my nose. I didnt know. I was in so much pain. I fell off the bed down to the floor.

Luger described a sensation that made him realize something was seriously wrong. When I was on the bed, I actually felt like I was in those old metal diver suits you see, metal helmet from back in the mid-1900s. I felt like I was in one of those suits and theres magnets pulling me from underneath, almost through the mattress. I didnt know what being paralyzed felt like. So I can move my head and shoulders, but that threw me off the bed.

With his breathing becoming compromised, panic set in. Now Im up against the nightstand, my chin down to my chest, and I didnt know this either. When you have a cervical high spinal cord it affects your breathing, which didnt help my breathing. My breathing was already compromised, so I thought I was gonna suffocate. So now Im up against the nightstand. I cant move. I feel like Im being pulled by magnets through the floor now, and I feel like Im suffering. I thought that was it.

At that moment, Luger found himself in what he calls a spiritual experience. And I tell people this, the Lord came into that room, Proverbs 3, 5 and 6. I was a brand new believer. I didnt even know I had a verse memorized in the Bible. But Proverbs, three, five and six, trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not upon your own understanding. Acknowledge me in all your ways, and Ill make your path straight. It was so calming when I felt like God was actually almost speaking to me. I didnt hear a voice or anything, but that resonated so much to me that my breathing calmed down, my heart rate and I laid there probably for hours until they came for my appearance.

Help finally arrived when his door was broken down after he failed to answer. When I didnt answer my door they had to knock my door down. I locked my door. I put the extra lock on my door, which I dont normally do.

Despite being unable to move, Luger initially refused medical attention. I couldnt scream because my breathing was compromised. I cant believe the guy heard me. He knocked on the door. Im like, help. But they knew when I didnt open the door and it was locked, I had to be in there. So thats when they called 911 they came in and bashed my door down. And whos there? Lets go full circle back, DDP, whos there out in Frisco for the appearance was there as well.

DDPwho would later play a crucial role in Lugers recoverywas the one who convinced him to go to the hospital. DDP comes into the room and he convinces me. The medics had picked me up off the floor and sat me in a chair. Im paralyzed in a chair, and Im like, No, Im okay. I think Im dehydrated maybe. He [DDP] looks at me and says, You gotta go to the hospital. You gotta go with these guys, man, this aint dehydration, bro.

At the hospital, doctors struggled to pinpoint the exact cause of his paralysis but discovered massive spinal cord swelling. They took me downstairs. The medics were big wrestling fans, a guy and a girl. They looked at each other, Im laying there. I cant move up, but Im listening to them. They go, where do we take him? Theyre naming these hospitals, and they go Stanford, which is like almost an hour from the airport. The guy goes, Oh man, we might get fired if we do that, but lets do it. They drove me all the way to Stanford, which is a world-class medical facility. They were unbelievable. Ran every test you could possibly do.

Doctors were uncertain about the cause but gave him a grim prognosis. They said it could have been the workout. We saw a little bit of stenosis, nothing from your wrestling and football career that necessarily made this happen. We see this in people all the time that never did sports or any high collision stuff. We put it in a category, kind of like a category we dont know what you have or what caused transverse myelitis, swelling of the spinal cord, massive swelling from C5 down to T5 and thats lights out from there down. Thats it for the rest of your life.

Lugers faith played a huge role in his mindset as he continued his recovery. When he was transferred to a new facility in Atlanta, the coincidences felt like divine signs. I got to Atlanta and Shepherd Center, which is a world-class facility right here in Atlanta where I was living at the time. Which was a miracle. They put me in room 316, John 316. I go I must be in the right place. The two nurses were Grace and Hope. When I came into the room the name tags. Im like, Oh my gosh.

Despite the doctors bleak expectations, Luger has defied the odds. He has worked tirelessly with DDP for years and continues to make progress. With his sights set on walking again, his journey is far from over.