Matt Rogers, Fraser Olender’s boyfriend, has shared a health update on how the latter is doing after a life-threatening scare, which led him to temporarily leave Below Deck. This comes days after Olender himself said on social media that he “could have died for the sake of something so ridiculously stupid.”
Matt Rogers says Fraser Olender is ‘doing a lot better’ after suffering heart attack
During the Below Deck episode, which aired on December 9, Matt Rogers, Olender’s boyfriend, said, “I know a lot of people are watching that care about him. Thank you so much. He’s doing a lot better.”
A few weeks ago, Olender ended up in the hospital due to severe chest pains and breathing difficulties. He was later diagnosed with E-cigarette or Vaping-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI), which is caused by excessive vaping. With his condition in mind, Rogers addressed the viewers, saying, “Don’t Vape. Don’t do it. Throw it away.”
Olender joined Below Deck as the chief steward in 2021 during Season 9. Earlier this month, he made an Instagram post, sharing details on the incident.
He wrote, “A few weeks ago, I was rushed to the hospital due to severe chest pains and difficulties breathing. Following this, I spent a week in London hospitals seeing specialists to identify the cause and possible damage of the incident.”
“Whatever was in my vape caused me to have a coronary artery vasospasm,” Olender further stated. “Medically, that means the arteries supplying blood to my heart suddenly clamped down. That spasm reduced blood flow enough to cause an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Better known as a heart attack – not because of a blockage, but because my heart wasn’t getting enough oxygen during the spasm.”
However, the 33-year-old said, “I’m grateful to still be recovering now.” He added, “If this experience can help even one person rethink vaping, it’s worth telling.”
Olender recalled how the doctors had to administer the “strongest pain relief” medicine, which only brought his pain from “10 to a 7.” “I could have died for the sake of something so ridiculously stupid,” he acknowledged. He shared that he hasn’t “touched a vape since this happened and never will.” Adding a message to his followers, he said, “Please do yourselves a favour and give it up too.”
Originally reported by Harsha Panduranga on Comingsoon.
