Quinton Aaron, recognized for his role alongside Sandra Bullock in the 2009 film “The Blind Side,” has been hospitalized following a spinal stroke, according to his family.
It was reported on Sunday that the 41-year-old actor is on life support due to a critical blood infection, as mentioned in a GoFundMe campaign aimed at assisting with his medical expenses and supporting his family.
At that moment, Aaron’s manager, Katrina Fristoe, shared with the Daily Mail that he was under excellent medical care and surrounded by loved ones.
On Thursday, the family released an official statement acknowledging the concern for Aaron’s condition. They expressed gratitude for the outpouring of love, support, and prayers from fans and the community, as reported by TMZ.
The family confirmed Aaron experienced a “spinal stroke” and shared the encouraging news that he is now “alert, aware, and recovering.”
They also mentioned the challenges they face in ensuring his well-being but promised to keep the public updated on Aaron’s health as appropriate.
The Daily Mail has contacted Aaron’s representatives for comment.
Quinton Aaron, who starred with Sandra Bullockin the 2009 sports drama The Blind Side, was hospitalized after having a spinal stroke, his family has revealed
Aaron is best known for playing former NFL star Michael Oher in The Blind Side, in which he is pictured with Bullock, who won an Oscar for her performance, and child actor Jae Head
Aaron, who revealed his stunning 200lb weight loss last year, is best known for playing former NFL star Michael Oher in The Blind Side, whose high school and college football career was chronicled in Michael Lewis’s popular book of the same name.
Fans of Oher and the film about his remarkable success story were shocked in 2023, when he filed a lawsuit claiming that Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy had not adopted him but had instead created a conservatorship that awarded their family millions from the success of The Blind Side film, even though Oher was allegedly paid nothing for the movie.
This past Sunday, a manager for Aaron told TMZ that the actor had been hospitalized in Atlanta, Georgia, for three days.
According to his manager, Aaron was rushed to the hospital after he had been taking the stairs up to his apartment and suddenly lost the ability to control his legs, causing him to fall down the stairs.
While Aaron was described in his GoFundMe as being on ‘life support,’ his manager claimed to TMZ that he was ‘stable’ and had been able to communicate with his family and professional team.
Crucially, the controversial term ‘stable’ can be used by medical professionals simply to indicate that a patient is not deteriorating further, and it does not necessarily imply that they are in good condition.
According to the manager on Sunday, Aaron’s doctors were still running tests, and they had not at that stage determined what led to his devastating fall.
Aaron’s manager added that his family was appreciative of the support he had received from fans.
Aaron latest medical emergency comes after he gave his fans a scare in March 2025, when he was rushed to a hospital after coughing up blood.
The actor was also suffering from a fever at the time, and though his eventual diagnosis wasn’t revealed, TMZ reported at the time that doctors posited Type A flu and pneumonia as possible culprits.
Aaron, who had to miss an event in Orange County, California, due to his medical emergency, told the publication that he was doing better and no longer coughing up blood after doctors administered antibiotics and IV fluids.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, Aaron’s manager, Katrina Fristoe, said he was ‘receiving excellent medical care’ and is with family; Aaron is pictured in 2025 after losing 200 pounds
On Sunday, Aaron’s manager told TMZ that he was rushed to a hospital in Atlanta after he had been walking up the steps to his apartment and suddenly fell after losing control of his legs; pictured in 2009 in NYC
The Left Behind actor had also battled a serious upper respiratory infection in 2019.
In October, Aaron announced that he was feeling ‘overwhelmed and blessed’ after shedding an incredible 200 pounds.
The 6ft8in actor said he was down to 375 pounds, after once weighing in at 575 pounds in 2012.
The Blind Side star said seeing the extreme number on the scale helped him realize that he was eating himself ‘into an early grave.’
At the time of his weight-loss announcement, Aaron said he only had 55 pounds left to lose before reaching his goal weight of 320 pounds, which would put him at ‘the same weight I was when I was 14 playing football in high school.’
According to the film and television actor, he began taking the popular weight-loss drug Ozempic in 2024, but he was forced to discontinue it after he suffered an allergic reaction to the injectable medication.
Aaron, who was rushed to the hospital in March 2025 after coughing up blood and coming down with a fever, revealed in October that he had lost an incredible 200 pounds in an effort to get healthier; pictured after announcing his weight loss
In 2023, Aaron revealed to the American Heart Association that he had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2020 and diabetes a year later, which inspired him to kick off his health and weight-loss journey; pictured with Bullock and Tim McGraw in NYC in 2009
After he had to go off the medication, Aaron instead turned to intermittent fasting to help him slim down.
He said he also made dietary changes by cutting down on foods high in sugar or carbohydrates, and he joked that he was ‘getting a lot of cardio in the bedroom’ with his wife, Margarita.
In 2023, Aaron revealed to the American Heart Association that he had been previously diagnosed with congestive heart failure.
He was at particular risk from the condition due to having multiple family members who had been diagnosed with heart disease and heart failure.
In 2020 alone, he was hospitalized three times, once due to a bout of Covid-19 and twice due to heart failure.
Then, in 2021, he was diagnosed with diabetes, which inspired him to kickstart his health journey.
