What is vasculitis? Ashton Kutcher reveals he was unable to walk, see or hear due to rare autoimmune condition
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ashton Kutcher, who has struggled with a rare autoimmune condition vasculitis, says he considers himself ‘lucky to be alive.’ The 44-year-old actor discussed his personal battle with a condition that left him unable to walk, see, or hear in a sneak peek of an upcoming episode of National Geographic's ‘Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge’.
Kutcher revealed in the clip, "Like two years ago, I had this weird, super rare form of vasculitis, that knocked out my vision, it knocked out my hearing, it knocked out like all my equilibrium. It took me like a year to build it all back up.” "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 added.
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What is Vasculitis?
According to Mayo Clinic, Vasculitis is the name of a group of rare autoimmune diseases that cause inflammation of blood vessels. It can lead to thickening of the walls of blood vessels, restricted blood flow, and damaged organs and tissues.
The condition might affect just one organ or several, and it can be short-term or long-lasting. According to the Mayo Clinic, signs of disorders of the eyes and ears can include sudden hearing loss, double vision, or temporary or permanent blindness in one or both eyes. The exact cause of vasculitis isn’t fully known, but some types have been linked to genetics while others occur when the immune system attacks blood vessels by mistake after being triggered by other diseases or infections.
Kutcher was commended for being ‘strong and resilient’ by the show's presenter, Bear Grylls, in the promo. The 'That 70s Show' star continued by saying that he considers himself ‘lucky to be alive’ and that he is now using the health issue as a life lesson. “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,” Kutcher remarked.
Although the actor maintains a relatively private life, Mila Kunis, Kutcher's wife, revealed last year how the actor gave himself pancreatitis by consuming ‘too much carrot juice’ while practicing for his role as Steve Jobs in the 2013 film ‘Jobs.’As per a report in Daily Mail, in order to portray the late innovator in the movie, Kutcher also adhered to a fruit-only diet and also claimed to be ‘doubled over in pain’ due to his pancreatic problems. Kunis told host Sean Evans on an episode of the web series ‘Hot Ones,’ "He was so dumb. He only ate grapes at one point, it was so stupid. We ended up in the hospital twice with pancreatitis!"