Matthew Perry a beloved member of the “Friends” cast, almost died several years ago at the age of 49 when his colon burst from opioid overuse.
While Perry claims at the time of his health scare that he suffered a gastrointestinal perforation, he now has acknowledged that he actually spent two weeks in a coma and five months in the hospital. Perry said he had to use a colostomy bag for nine months to treat the health crisis.
“The doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live,” Perry said. “I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And that’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that.”
Perry, 53, discusses how much his drug and alcohol addictions consumed his life in his new memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,” out Nov. 1.
“I’m pretty healthy now,” he told the magazine, before joking, “I’ve got to not go to the gym much more, because I don’t want to only be able to play superheroes. But no, I’m a pretty healthy guy right now.”
Perry didn’t reveal how long he’s been sober since last relapsing but said he still counts each day.
“It’s important, but if you lose your sobriety, it doesn’t mean you lose all that time and education,” he said. “Your sober date changes, but that’s all that changes.”
He continued, “You know everything you knew before, as long as you were able to fight your way back without dying, you learn a lot.”
Perry also said the 14 scars on his stomach, as well as the idea of wearing a colostomy bag for the rest of his life, serve as a reminder to never take Oxycontin again.
“All I have to do is look down,” he said.
