Los Angeles: ‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry says rehab staff tried to block him from going to hospital when his colon exploded.
The actor, 53, says they accused him of pretending to be ill to get drugs despite him being in agony he called the “worst” pain of his life, reports aceshowbiz.com.
“Something was wrong, very wrong. This was a different kind of Pain. Like my body was going to burst. Like my insides were trying to force their way out. This was the no- f******-around kind of pain,” he said in an extract published on Monday, October 24 in ‘The Times’ from his upcoming memoir, ‘Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing’.
His agony hit after he had been unable to empty his bowels for 10 days, with his assistant Erin, who had been staying at a sober house with him for support, realising he needed hospital treatment. But he said he was told by staff at the facility, “This is just drug-seeking behaviour. He’s going to ask for drugs at the hospital.”
Perry also claimed counsellors attempted to “block” their exit to get treatment, saying one stood in front of their car to stop them leaving. Matthew added, “If I were just doing this to get drugs, then I deserved an Oscar.”
He was finally admitted to the hospital where he lapsed into a coma, aspirated into his breathing tube, contracted pneumonia and his colon exploded.
The incident happened when he was 49 and left him in a coma for two weeks, with his family being told he had only a 2 per cent chance of survival. He ended up staying in hospital for five months and was fitted with a colostomy bag after he pulled through.
He has also told how he spent at least $9 million to get sober. He gave the estimate to ‘The New York Times’ on Sunday, October 23, saying he spent a fortune trying to kick his drink and drug addictions.
During his lowest points, Matthew was taking 55 Vicodin a day and weighed 128 pounds at one point during the 10-season run of “Friends” from 1994 to 2004, in which he starred as Chandler Bing.
He has also told ‘People’ he only has to “look down” at his stomach scars from 14 surgeries to remind him to stay sober.
–IANS