Ashton Kutcher has spoken out about his experience of living with a rare disease, that left him unable to walk, see or even hear.
Kutcher is known best for his work in Hollywood, where he has found major success since he first began acting back in 1998 with the fan-favourite sitcom That 70’s Show. He went on to marry Mila Kunis, one of his co-stars from this show years later in 2015.
Since starting out, he has gone on to star in hit movies such as Killers, A Lot Like Love and The Guardian. He also has made a name for himself in venture capital, and has put money behind a variety of different startup businesses.
However, the Valentine’s Day actor recently made headlines after he opened up about battling a potentially fatal disease. He first revealed his condition back in August earlier this year, but turns out he actually went though it all 2 years back.
But now, the forty-four-year-old has opened up even further in an episode for the new Paramount series called The Checkup with Dr. David Agus.
Kutcher revealed that he just “woke up one day and was having vision issues” to the extent that he could “hardly see”.
“[It] knocked out my hearing, which threw off my equilibrium, my balance and I couldn’t walk,” the star shared.
“There’s a standard you become accustomed to in your life, like, being able to see clearly. And then suddenly, you can’t see.”
His condition is a rare form of the blood vessel disease called vasculitis, in which the immune system attacks the blood vessels. It is a very serious condition that is known to have potentially fatal consequences.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute describe the disease as “when swelling affects the walls of your blood vessels,” and it includes a wide variety of conditions.
The symptoms can range from tiredness, fever and general aches and can develop over a few months or in the space of just a few days.If left untreated, these will develop into problems, including with eyes and ears.
Kutcher explained his personal experience: “Then you’re like, ‘Why are you not f**king talking louder, ’cause I can’t hear you?’
“You want to reclaim the health that you once had.”
The star of The Butterfly Effect has shared thoughts on his experience previously. He spoke to British adventurer Bear Grylls about the condition during an episode of his National Geographic series Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge.
He explained: “2 years ago, I had this weird, super rare form of vasculitis that, like, knocked out my vision. It knocked out my hearing. It knocked out, like, all my equilibrium.”
“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.”
He concluded that he was “lucky to be alive,” however it had taken him “like a year to build it all back up”.
