Former UFC Fighter Angela Magana Wakes Up from Two-Day Coma After Surgery Complications
Former UFC strawweight Angela Magana has woken up from a two-day coma after suffering complications from an emergency surgery.
Magana’s coach Gabriel Lamastus told MMA Junkie on Thursday that the mixed martial artist, 35, is now responsive.
“Angela is responding to the treatment and is waking up!!!,” Lamastus said, adding that Magana has also been able to talk. “We are over joyed [sic]. She has been in and out of it.”
According to MMA Junkie, Lamastus said that Magana was injured during training on April 7, where she suffered a herniated disc and had a nerve block procedure to alleviate the pain. After she had a bad reaction to the nerve block, she was diagnosed with cauda equina syndrome on Tuesday.
Following the diagnosis, she was rushed into emergency surgery at a hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she resides. After the surgery was completed on Tuesday, Magana’s coaching staff shared on her Twitter page that she was unresponsive.
Angela still unresponsive I will be here in the icu at hospital as nuero team works on this. Remeber lifs is so short and can change in a blink of an eye!
We Love You Magaña
Team La perla— Angela Magana (@AngelaMagana1) April 17, 2019
According to Lamastus, per MMA Junkie, Magana had suffered a complication due to the anesthesia used in the surgery.
Lamastus said that Magana’s aunt had died from anesthesia. In a video taken before the surgery and shared to her Twitter account, Magana expressed concern about being given the anesthesia.
“She’s in a coma, and we’re waiting to hear some positive news,” Lamastus told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “The surgery went fine. The problem was anesthesia. It’s very rare that patients react bad to anesthesia, but it does happen, and I guess this is one of those rare cases. But I’m being positive. She’ll be fine, and she’ll wake up. She’s a fighter. I’m just staying positive.”
RELATED: UFC Fighter Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone ‘Happy to Be Alive’ After a Cave Dive Goes Wrong
Later on Wednesday, Lamastus shared an update on Magana’s Twitter, where he said he was “very positive” that she would wake up.
“She’s been moving her hands and she’s been opening and closing her eyes,” he said, “so we’re positive that she’s going to get healthy soon.”
Update on Angelas Status. We are very postive about her waking up from the coma.
Sincerely Gabriel pic.twitter.com/atfuTMSCDs— Angela Magana (@AngelaMagana1) April 17, 2019
RELATED: UFC Fighter Frank Shamrock Admits to Leaving Mom’s Dog Tied to a Truck at the Airport for 4 Days
Magana was released by UFC in December 2017 after her 0-3 record. According to Lamastus, she was preparing to represent Puerto Rico in wrestling during next year’s Olympics.
She has three children, MMA Junkie reported.
“She’s a hard worker. Angela is a very, very hard worker,” Lamastus said, per MMA Junkie. “A lot of people only know the Angela from social media. They don’t really know the real Angela. That woman busts her tail to provide for her family.”
