Ashton Kutcher Has Secretly Been Recovering From A Rare Disease For A Year

Ashton Kutcher recently opened up about having been diagnosed with a very rare disease with very scary side effects.

By Doug Norrie | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

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Ashton Kutcher is feeling pretty lucky right now, maybe the luckiest he’s ever been which is really saying something for the dude. After all, this is a guy who’s had hit television shows, starred in movies, and been one of the better investors among the Hollywood elite that there is. While those pieces aren’t all luck mind you, it’s easy to see why he would think he has a blessed life. But the actor admitted recently that it all almost drastically changed, on a permanent level, when he was diagnosed with a very rare disease that left him unable to see, hear, and even walk for an extended period of time. Ashton Kutcher admitted it was a scary span of years that left him doubting he would have some of his core functions and sense ever again. 

While on a recent episode of Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge on National Geographic (via Variety), Ashton Kutcher opened up about having been diagnosed with and suffering from a rare form of vasculitis. This was about two years ago and it caused Kutcher to lose his ability to see and hear, taking more than a full year to get everything back in working order. While Ashton Kutcher doesn’t talk about what led to this, the vasculitis diagnosis is a scary one. It involves blood vessel inflammation which causes the walls of the vessels to thicken. This can lead to both organ and tissue damage if not treated properly.

Ashton Kutcher went on to say how appreciative he’s been in the time since his recovery, essentially taking a new stock on life when the prospect of losing much of it weighed on him for an extended period of time. With Grylls, Kutcher discussed how the things that seem like life’s bigger problems tend to fade away when faced with true life-altering issues. In this way, Ashton Kutcher said he’s been able to, “start surfing over life’s problems instead of living underneath them.” It’s a positive outlook, one born out of having to face down some truly scary stuff when it comes to living an everyday existence.

For the Running Wild with Bear Grylls episode, the host and Ashton Kutcher headed to Costa Rica where they were up for, well, some new challenges. During their time there Kutcher had to jump from a helicopter into the ocean. He also had to learn ocean canoeing, fishing, and descending a 300-foot jungle cliff. All of these had to feel like a walk in the park compared to what he’d been dealing with before.

Next up, Ashton Kutcher will make a return to the character that put his career on the superstar path. He is slated to cameo in That ‘90s Show, a sequel to That ‘70s Show and we’ll be able to catch up with what happened to Mark Kelso. A majority of the original cast, including Kutcher’s wife Mila Kunis, will be back as well for the Netflix series which is currently filming. It will return everyone to Point Place, Wisconsin in a story about the daughter of Topher Grace’s Eric and Laura Prepon’s Donna.