MOVIES
Ashton Kutcher shares how he came back from health struggle
Actor Ashton Kutcher shared personal anecdotes of his battle with vasculitis and how he has recovered since the 2019 diagnosis.
Ashton Kutcher says that it was his attitude, physical work and, when he didn’t know what else to do, his reliance on God, that helped him get through the pain he felt after being diagnosed with vasculitis.
In an interview with Esquire’s Madison Vain, the actor discussed how his medical condition first started to manifest symptoms.
It began when the 44-year-old had a migraine that persisted for two weeks. Finally his wife, Mila Kunis, urged him to see a doctor — but the illness still eluded doctors.
The articles notes that Kutcher was unable to get a diagnosis, at which point “he struggled to hear and see.”
How did Ashton Kutcher recover from his illness?
Kutcher has been coping with the rare autoimmune disorder, which attacks the blood vessels, since 2019 and has been able to recover with the help of treatment, rest, and physical training.
“Whatever you’re going through, you have two choices: You accept this as part of the experience, or you reject it as part of the experience,” Kutcher said. “And the minute you start rejecting it as a part of the experience, you start questioning reality.
The actor also noted that he didn’t want to be pitied, though many inquired after his health, asking if he was okay.
“I ran a [...] marathon,” he said he would want to respond. “Are you okay? Everybody goes through s***].”
Kutcher in the New York City Marathon
The marathon Kutcher refers to is his 26.2-mile run in the New York City Marathon in November 2022, three years after his diagnosis. He ran in support of Thorn, his nonprofit organization.
While on the run, Kutcher started to feel an unbearable splitting pain in his side, and felt he could go no further. That’s when he talked to God.
“If you need me to have this side stitch to finish this race, then give me every ounce of pain you could possibly give me,” he prayed as he ran. “If you don’t need me to have it, take it away.”
Once he had prayed, Kutcher expelled some gas and suddenly felt relief.
“But a remedy arrives almost immediately: A burp. A fart. The stitch is gone,” he declared.
Vain, who interviewed Kutcher in person, recalled Kutcher’s enthusiasm when discussing the experience, including his big smile and animated hands as he recounted how God had eased his burden.