Legendary wrestler has both legs amputated after walking struggle revealed as deadly infection
‘Promoters can tell you along with my peers, I’ve had a history with this and would cancel shows often due to this condition,’ Jimmy Rave tweets
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Your support makes all the difference.Former wrestler Jimmy Rave has had both of his legs amputated following an MRSA infection, just months after he had his left arm removed.
“Apparently it’s time for me to come clean,” he tweeted on 24 October. “This past June I began having trouble walking and went to my surgeon. He determined I had MRSA in both legs and they needed to be amputated immediately. Promoters can tell you along with my peers, I’ve had a history with this and would cancel shows often due to this condition.”
According to the CDC, “Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a cause of staph infection that is difficult to treat because of resistance to some antibiotics”.
It’s a “type of bacteria found on people’s skin” which are “usually harmless, but they can cause serious infections that can lead to sepsis or death”.
The agency also states on its website that staph infections “can spread in hospitals, other healthcare facilities, and in the community where you live, work, and go to school”.
According to the Mayo Clinic, one type of the infection – “community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA)” – usually spreads “by skin-to-skin contact. At-risk populations include groups such as high school wrestlers, child care workers and people who live in crowded conditions”.
“I don’t know where rumours started this was due to something else, but I hadn’t been to shows for so long. So where did someone see me do something?” the 38-year-old added.
He said he had “always been honest” about his past that he had been “super candid” on podcast interviews.
The wrestler, whose real name is James Guffey, has previously stated that he has experienced drug addiction in the past and he entered rehab in 2009.
“Pro-Wrestling is all I ever loved. It sucks to think that the tribe I would have died for, would say untrue things about me,” he added. “I’ve gone this whole time not disclosing my legs because of this embarrassment. Sorry, I fell short of your expectations. I tried ... I really did.”
On 21 October, Jimmy Rave tweeted an image of what looked like a hospital bill totalling $103,314.77.
“Thank you to all those who have been supportive of this journey thus far,” he wrote. “Your contributions have helped in my daily living and getting life back in order. I just recently got this bill in the mail ...WOW!”
The wrestler announced in November 2020 that he was retiring from pro wrestling after 21 years as he battled the infection that cost him his arm, and now his legs.
“My world came crashing down when doctors found an infection in my left arm,” he tweeted at the time. “I tried toughing it out but by the time I saw a doctor it was too late and they had to amputate my left arm above the elbow. Thus effectively ending my in-ring career.”
“This was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to type,” he added. “Please take your health much more seriously than I did.”
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