Dragon Ball English anime dub voice actor Christopher Ayres has announced he has received a lung transplant.

Ayres was diagnosed with end-stage COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) in 2017, with non-profit corporation Anime Twin Cities launching a fundraising campaign for his medical expenses shortly after.

Speaking on Twitter, Ayres revealed he had a lung transplant on October 31st, two years after first ending up on the transplant list. “I have a lot of recovering and rehab left to do before I can leave so I am not sure how long I will be here,” Ayers stated. “That’s normal though, After all, they sliced me in half and swapped out some of my biggest organs.”

Continuing, Ayres stated that he will be focusing on recovery, and keeping away from social media. He also stated that “some anime conventions” will be reactivating his GoFundMe campaign, as he ha used all the money raised so far on treatment. He also thanked Krystal and Greg.

“I am getting stronger every day.” Ayres said. “Every breath slowly is becoming easier. Every single day I am moving closer to Dallas, to starting my new life with Krystal and Atticus, to acting, to directing again, maybe even dancing, to who knows what? I am grateful for my lungs, and so incredibly grateful for the kind soul who decided to become an organ donor. I hope somewhere, he knows what a hero he is, and how hard I will work to deserve this gift.”

Ayers is best known for being the new voice of Frieza in Dragon Ball Z Kai, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’. and Dragon Ball Super: Broly. He has voiced characters in Gantz, Gintama: The Movie, Initial D, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, Phi-Brain – Puzzle of God, Sengoku Basara, Tamako Market, and Tears to Tiara.

He has also been involved with ADR directing and scripting for numerous anime English dubs.