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Amanda Huber Opens Up About Brodie Lee’s Passing On AEW Unrestricted Podcast
The latest guest on the AEW Unrestricted podcast was Amanda Huber, widow of former TNT champion Jon “Brodie Lee” Huber, who tragically passed away on December 26th of 2020. Amanda recounts her own timeline of events dating back to the Dark Order leader’s appearance on the very same podcast, and reveals the difficult journey that occurred until his death. Read a play-by-play below.
-Amanda says that on the day Brodie appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast he was unable to finish his peloton bike exercise, which was unusual. He mentioned being short of breath and she took his temperature and checked for any other COVID-19 symptoms. Everything came back normal as he still had the sense of taste and smell
-The next day Brodie attempted to do his peloton exercise again, but again he was unable to finish.
-A day after that Brodie drove to Jacksonville for Dynamite tapings. He tested negative for COVID but Doc Sampson didn’t feel confident in allowing him into the bubble due to his other symptoms so he was sent back home. Amanda says that as a precaution Brodie quarantined away from the family.
-Brodie developed a high fever the next day. Amanda said she tried to keep him hydrated but he was not able to eat. Later in the day he took a nasal swab test for COVID…the results would come back negative.
-After not getting better Brodie went to the Urgent Care where he was diagnosed with Bronchitis and allergies, but Brodie didn’t agree with the assessment has he felt like he had an pneumonia. They would prescribe him allergy meds and an oral steroid.
-The next day Brodie had visible signs of distress so they took him to the hospital. Amanda says he was leaning on her while walking but refused to get a wheelchair. His temperature was fine as his fever had disappeared but his oxygen was bad enough that they had to put him on an oxygen machine.
Brodie was showing visible signs of distress. His face was sunken in. While doctors thought it was definitely COVID he once again tested negative.
-Amanda notes that Brodie’s health was up-and-down throughout the last few days. He would be taken to the ICU for better monitoring. She says that “various people” in AEW were aware of Brodie’s declining health at this time. A long-time friend named Chris Harrington even reached out to help them but Amanda initially declined as she did not want any of this to leak out to the wrestling media
-On Halloween doctors at the hospital told Amanda that Brodie needed to be transferred to another hospital for further care, which is how he ended up at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Amanda knew that would be a good choice since there were connections to AEW. However, Amanda was also told that moving Brodie was a “matter of life or death” as he needed to to an ECMO machine, with talks of him needing a lung transplant. Amanda returned home to be with her sons and prepare them for Halloween but she got a call that Brodie had “crashed and intubated.” She the boys boarded a plane around 1am to go to the Mayo Clinic.
-AEW insisted to Amanda that they cover the costs of his treatment. She wanted to handle it herself, as he has a difficult time asking for help. In this section she would discuss how well the staff at Mayo treated her and kept her informed.
-Amanda spoke with AEW and told them to keep it quiet, as again she did not want this story leaked, and even offered to speak to the locker room herself. Occasionally she would check online to make sure it was still a secret, including on Reddit. During this time Brodie would be tested for COVID a fourth time…once again the test came back negative.
-Amanda reveals that on her birthday (November 14th) the nurses at the Mayo Clinic surprised her with a cake and a banner. It seemed like Brodie was also recovering as he was removed from the ventilator and put on oxygen again. He was even communicating, although non-verbally. However, he suffered a panic attack, which Amanda says is when things turned the worst. The option to have a lung transplant was put back on the table, with doctors telling her it was either that or end his life care. Brodie would then get an infection in his lungs…the same day as he and Amanda’s anniversary (December 13th).
-Chris Jericho flew Brodie Jr. to Jacksonville to attend a Dynamite taping. Amanda says that this was a big deal for Brodie Jr, and was the only other thing he wanted for Christmas besides his dad to get better. As for Amanda…she waited to hear from the doctors about Brodie receiving a lung transplant but they it kept getting declined. Eventually Amanda returned home to be with her kids and wait it out.
-A doctor would call Amanda and tell her that they needed to end Brodie’s life care as his kidneys and heart were failing. She refused to come back to Jacksonville, as she was determined to spend Christmas with her children even though she may not be there if Brodie died.
-On Christmas Amanda, the kids, and some family attempted to have a normal Christmas day despite everything going on. That night she flew up with some in-laws to Jacksonville to be with Brodie. She later asked Cody Rhodes and Big E if they would be willing to help her break the news to Brodie Jr. about his father possibly passing.
December 25th (Christmas Day)
-On December 26th, the day Brodie passed, Cody, Big E, Shawn Spears, Tyler Breeze, Peyton Royce, and the AEW legal team came to say their goodbyes. Amanda, Big E, and Cody later talked to Brodie Jr. about his father’s passing. She says the official cause of death was “idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis,” which is a scarring on the lungs. She still awaits a full autopsy.
-Amanda ends by saying that she was unable to have an official ceremony for Brodie due to the pandemic, and that AEW’s tribute show fit that. She also gets mad at anyone who says the company is exploiting on his death, claiming that they’ve gone above and beyond to not only treat his death with respect, but help his son live out a dream.
Listen to the full episode below.
(Special thanks to Miber3)