Ashton Kutcher says he’s ‘lucky to be alive’ after battling autoimmune disease
Actor reveals difficult ordeal during an episode of ‘Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge,’ says ‘rare form of vasculitis’ robbed him of sight, hearing and equilibrium
American actor Ashton Kutcher, 44, has revealed his battle with an autoimmune disease that he said nearly killed him.
In a recent episode of “Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge,” Kutcher said he was “lucky to be alive” after sharing the difficult ordeal that he said started two years ago.
“Two years ago I had this weird, super-rare form of vasculitis that knocked out my vision and knocked out my hearing and knocked out all my equilibrium. It took me like a year to build it all back up,” Kutcher said.
“You don’t really appreciate it until it’s gone, until you go: ‘I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to see again, I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to hear again, I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to walk again.”
Kutcher did not provide any details about the type of vasculitis he suffered from.
The experience has at least provided Kutcher with a new perspective on life, he said.
“The minute you start seeing your obstacles as things that are made for you to give you what you need, then life starts to get fun, you start surfing on top of your problems instead of living underneath them,” he said.
The show’s host, British adventurer and TV presenter Bear Grylls, said the whole ordeal sounded like “a terrifying journey but it’s also part of why he’s strong and resilient.
“What do they say in survival? Storms make you stronger and I think he is living proof of that.”
Kutcher is best known for his role portraying the character of Michael Kelso in the 1998-2006 Fox sitcom “That ’70s Show,” where he met his current wife, Jewish actor Mila Kunis.
