(NEXSTAR) – Actor and WWE wrestler Kevin Nash has opened up about the death of his son Tristen, who passed away last week at the age of 26.
Tristen, who had been working on his father’s podcast in recent months, died of cardiac arrest after suffering a seizure brought on by alcohol withdrawal, according to Nash.
“The seizure caused a cardiac arrest,” Nash said on the latest episode of his “Kliq THIS” podcast. “He was basically dead in his room on the floor with EMT working on him. And, they got him back, and got him in the ambulance, and tried to save his life. And, so, to the people at Halifax Hospital — doctors and nurses — I thank you.”
Nash said he and his son had recently decided to quit drinking cold-turkey after “a couple of incidents,” including one in which Tristen was drinking beers during the podcast a few weeks back.
“I got pissed at him … because he had had this situation, at the beginning of the year, where he was hospitalized for almost 60 days,” Nash said.
Nash said both he and Tristen agreed to cut out alcohol, and soon found themselves feeling “not great” during withdrawal. Nash also noted that alcohol withdrawal can increase the chance of seizures, a severe symptom called “the most dramatic and dangerous component of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome” in a study published with the National Institutes of Health.
Nash added that he had already lost two friends to alcoholism, “and now it’s taken my son.”
“He is the sweetest, kindest, gentlest human being on Earth,” Nash said of Tristen at one point, speaking of him in the present tense.
Tristen, who died Wednesday, had been working as a podcast technician on “Kliq THIS.” He also played in a grunge band called The Builders, according to his Instagram account.
Upon his passing, the Nash family issued a statement confirming his death and asking for privacy. Sean Oliver, the co-host of the “Kliq THIS” podcast, said at the time that Nash would address his son’s passing in an upcoming episode.