Former OSU wrestler Mark Coleman says he’s ‘lucky’ after house fire

Mark Coleman, left, punches Randy Couture during their mixed martial arts light heavyweight bout Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010 in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

Mark Coleman, UFC Hall of Famer and former Ohio State wrestler, called himself “the happiest man in the world” from his hospital bed following an early morning house fire Tuesday, according to a video shared to his Facebook account.

Coleman, 59, was taken by helicopter Tuesday to a Toledo Promedica after suffering from smoke inhalation. He attempted to save the family’s dog, a Rottweiler named Hammer, after he had already carried both of his parents out of their Fremont home, according to an Instagram post by his daughter Morgan.

Hammer died in the fire.

Photos shared on a GoFundMe fundraiser by his family show him intubated at the hospital immediately following the fire. But in a new video, posted Thursday morning by his daughter Kenzie, Coleman is seen sitting up in bed, talking and embracing his daughters in a hug.

“God, I’m so lucky,” Coleman said through tears. “I can’t believe my parents are alive.”

Coleman said he “had to make a decision” as the fire had already taken over the home. He went back in to get Hammer, he said, but he “couldn’t find air.”

Kenzie Coleman wrote that her dad is breathing on his own.

“God is good. Miracles do happen,” she wrote.

First appeared on www.dispatch.com

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