Narcos: Mexico star Manuel Masalva has shared his first update in over 100 days since he contracted an aggressive bacterial infection while traveling from the Philippines to Dubai.
Masalva shared his update on Instagram on July 7th with a screenshot of his notes app in Spanish. “I am healing. I want to profoundly thank you all for the support you have given me and continue to give me, in every sense, every one of you," he wrote, noting that his healing process has "barely begun."
"There is much more left to go, but I feel blessed, strong, reborn, and well-accompanied," the actor continued. "God has given me another opportunity at life, God has given me a new life.”
In the second slide, he continued, "105 days today, but I’m awake, and the light has been pouring in ever since. I’ve even been able to breathe air from outside, from the comings and goings of thousands of people in this grand hospital."
Masalva went on to praise Dubai, "What a place—I was reborn here, in another culture that has surpassed us in love and spirituality. I don’t know if I truly understand all of this or just a part of it. It has felt eternal, and there’s still more ahead."
He also thanked God, his family, the doctors, and all the people who supported him from the beginning. "I owe you my life. Without you and God’s hand, this wouldn’t be real," he concluded.
His post comes 11 days before his 44th birthday, meaning he will hopefully get to celebrate it around family and friends.
What happened to Manuel?
The 43-year-old arrived in Dubai after vacationing in the Philippines on March 18 and was sick two days later. Manuel's manager, Jaime Jaramillo Espinosa, told The Times in April that Masalva began to "feel internal discomfort and pain which increased by the day."
Doctors discovered it was an aggressive bacterial infection that prevented him from traveling back to Mexico, and the infection reached his lungs, which prompted the medically induced coma. On March 26, he had an emergency surgery.
His family launched a GoFundMe in April to help cover the overwhelming cost of medical care abroad, and his fans, co-stars, and loved ones raised more than a million pesos.
In May, his loved ones said he was moving, recognizing voices. Two months later, he's back and on the road to recovery.