Heroic “Below Deck” cameraman Brent Freeburg, who previously saved the life of cast member Ashton Pienaar, was comatose earlier this month after suffering two strokes earlier this month and remains hospitalized.
Freeburg’s family shared this week in a GoFundMe, which has thus far raised nearly $59,000 of a $500,000 goal, that they are “12 days through a nightmare” after he suffered two strokes and a subdural hematoma on Feb. 15.
The New York State native, who grew up in the Adirondacks, experienced the medical emergency while outside of Los Angeles. His family is trying to raise funds to transport him to a hospital near them on the East Coast.
Freeburg’s family highlighted the moment he saved deckhand Ashton Pienaar’s life in 2018, during the sixth season of the Bravo hit.
“Brent had no passion to be on camera, but quickly found his way to the forefront during one pivotal and life changing moment. Ashton was quickly whisked away to sea trapped, and drowning,” reads the GoFundMe. “Brent made the decision to break the dreaded fourth wall and quickly went from spectator to hero. Brentrick, as we lovingly call him, however, was always our hero.”
“It’s a tough thing to process when someone who’s given you so much is now facing their own battle,” Pienaar wrote on Instagram earlier this week. “If you have a moment, please keep him in your thoughts. Wishing him strength, healing, and a full recovery.”
As of Thursday, though still on antibiotics, a sedative and pain medication, Freeburg is experiencing a fluctuating fever but managed to “move his toes and squeeze his hand on command. … And yesterday’s CAT scan showed no changes… which is good news too. Small steps,” his mom, Cheri, said in an update shared by a cousin via Instagram.
Though Freeburg is no longer comatose and has been able to breathe on his own in recent days, doctors previously kept him on a breathing tube “as a precaution,” according to hospitalization updates Cheri previously shared on GoFundMe.
Last Friday, Freeburg underwent a Middle Meningeal Artery (MMA) Embolization, meant to reduce the source of the brain’s bleeding. Cheri wrote that he was “stable, and vitals are all good” the following day, though he was back on the breathing tube and “still asleep.”
Freeburg had a fever for much of Tuesday — the last day his mom shared updates — prompting doctors to run multiple tests to determine whether he has an infection. He will subsequently move to a rehab facility.