Quinton Aaron, the actor best known for playing Michael Oher in “The Blind Side,” is opening up about the harrowing months since he nearly died in Atlanta earlier this year — describing a coma, paralysis, and a startling discovery about his marriage that he says forced him to cut ties with the woman he thought was his wife.
Aaron told WSB-TV that he suffered a spinal stroke caused by a severe blood infection, which left him paralyzed from the waist down and unable to make legal decisions on his own behalf. He spent four days in a coma and could not breathe independently for a month, according to the same report. The station's Channel 2 Action News had earlier covered his stay in an Atlanta hospital while he was on life support, and Aaron has since spoken with ABC News about the ordeal as well.
The physical crisis began, according to The Guardian, with several days of severe neck and back soreness before Aaron suddenly lost feeling in his legs and collapsed on the stairs of his Atlanta apartment in January. Doctors placed him on life support and broad-spectrum antibiotics upon his arrival at the hospital, the outlet reported. Dr. Nithin Devireddy, medical director at the Rehabilitation Hospital of Atlanta, said in April that Aaron's pre-existing diabetes directly contributed to the spinal stroke, as reported by WTHR.
A Coma, Cardiac Arrest, and a Fight to Breathe
During the medical emergency, Aaron suffered cardiac arrest and required multiple resuscitations, according to Yardbarker, and he later recalled a near-death experience in which he said he “saw Jesus.” While still intubated in late January, he hit an early milestone — waking from his four-day coma, opening his eyes, and regaining preliminary sensation in his foot, per the Guardian's reporting. He was intubated for the emergency and could not breathe independently for a month, according to WSB-TV.
Aaron's history of respiratory scares predates this crisis. TMZ reported that he was hospitalized in California in March 2025 for coughing up blood caused by Type A flu and pneumonia, following a severe upper respiratory infection in 2019, and that he had lost 200 pounds in late 2025 after those earlier health emergencies. He is now recovering at a rehabilitation facility, WSB-TV reported, where he receives daily inpatient care; the facility, the Rehabilitation Hospital of Atlanta, is a joint venture between Piedmont Healthcare and Encompass Health, according to AmoMama.
The Marriage He Learned Wasn't Legal
Perhaps the most jarring twist came after Aaron woke up: he learned his wife, Margarita DeLeon, was already married to another man. While Aaron was in his temporary coma, a lawyer retained by his family discovered DeLeon had been legally wed since 1992, invalidating her December 2024 ceremony with Aaron in Los Angeles, according to HELLO! Magazine. Because of that finding, Aaron could not make legal decisions on his own behalf, and WSB-TV reported he has not spoken to DeLeon since the coma and has since cut ties with her entirely.
DeLeon has maintained she genuinely believed her prior divorce had been finalized years earlier. “Bibi, this information that your family pulled up on me, you know, I wasn't aware of it,” she said, according to WSB-TV. She added, “This is what I found out. It is true.” Aaron's family took protective legal steps during his hospitalization: his brother, Jarred, filed a court restraining order in February against DeLeon to bar her from visiting Aaron's hospital room, a move Urban Hollywood 411 reported Aaron publicly endorsed.
Support Poured In From Fans and Hollywood
As Aaron fought for his life, a GoFundMe campaign organized by the Veterans Aid Network raised over $40,000 for his medical and living expenses, according to Newsweek, aided by a $10,000 contribution from Alcon Entertainment, the studio behind “The Blind Side.” The nonprofit stepped in partly because Aaron comes from a veteran family, per the same report. Hoodline first reported on his life-support stay and the fundraiser back in January.
Now months into recovery, Aaron says he is optimistic he will walk again, even as medical staff have cautioned that regaining that ability could take up to a year for someone with a severe spinal injury like his. In August, he announced plans for a career comeback that include a new podcast, a book, a documentary, motivational speaking tours, and directing projects, according to Yardbarker, saying he is determined to return to entertainment whether in a wheelchair or standing. He has said he wants his story to encourage others facing severe trauma not to give up.
