Due to his battles with alcoholism and opiate addiction, “Friends” actor Matthew Perry has spoken publicly about his near-death experience from years ago.
Matthew Perry, 53, says he was given a 2% chance of life in 2018 during a prolonged hospital stay, according to an interview he gave People magazine for its cover story. An actor’s publicist at the time said the actor suffered a stomach perforation.
Now Matthew Perry is providing more detail, stating he spent weeks in a battle to remain alive after an opiate overdose caused his intestines to explode. He was in the hospital for a total of five months, two of which were spent in a coma. According to an interview with People, he spent nine months with a colostomy bag.
Matthew Perry Reveals He Nearly Died In 2018
I was hooked up to an ECMO machine, which bypasses your heart and lungs entirely. The term for such is Hail Mary.” In his words, “no one survives”.
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Matthew Perry has indicated he has been waiting until now to discuss his story. In his latest book “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” he goes into further detail about his past and his struggle with addiction.
The time he felt “safe from slipping into the dark side of things again” was when he wanted to share the news with the public, he told the press. I didn’t feel comfortable putting it all down until I was very far removed from the current sickness of drinking and addiction. In addition, I felt quite certain that it would be beneficial to others.
Matthew Perry has attempted treatment for addiction 15 times and has had 14 surgeries.
The actor said that he was already in the early stages of alcohol addiction when he was hired on the sitcom “Friends” at age 24, but thought he “could manage it. Kind of.
The show eventually became a hit throughout the world and aired for a total of 10 seasons and 10 years. Even while there were times during that decade that Perry was clean, he was “very immersed in a lot of difficulties” by the time the program was wrapping up, he added.
I stayed clean and sober the whole ninth season. I was nominated for best actor, and you’ll never guess in what year! That should tell me something, I thought, he remarked.
His co-stars, he noted, were patient and understanding. In April of 2021, they reunited to shoot their heartfelt, all-star reunion spectacular.
Matthew Perry now hopes that others might learn from his experience.
Certainly, I am thankful to be alive. And it allows me to achieve anything,” he stated, stressing that “sobriety is the foundation for everything.”
Even though it’s nerve-wracking to lay all your cards on the table in a book, I included every detail because I wanted to give the whole narrative. Nothing is missing.