Matthew Perry recently shared with the world that he nearly passed away a few years ago due to an overdose after years of struggling with substance abuse problems. This was shocking news for many, and a story he promises to speak on further in his upcoming memoir.
More tidbits have been coming out though, including his gratitude towards one of his co-stars on Friends who confronted him about his drinking.
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‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry has recently opened up about a tough time in his life.
In an interview with People , and with the upcoming release of his memoir, he’s spoken very candidly about the years he spent struggling with alcoholism and addiction.
He revealed that he “nearly” died at 49 from an opioid overdose.
“The doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live,” he 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.”
He spent five months in the hospital.
Two weeks of that were spent in a coma.
He had to use a colostomy bag for nine months after his overdose, which wound up playing a key part in his choosing to go sober.
“It was pretty hellish having one because they break all the time,” he explained.
“My therapist said, ‘The next time you think about taking OxyContin, just think about having a colostomy bag for the rest of your life. And a little window opened, and I crawled through it, and I no longer want OxyContin.”
He’s grateful to still be alive.
He’s also grateful for his Friends co-stars, who stuck by and helped support him.
“It’s like penguins. Penguins, in nature, when one is sick, or when one is very injured, the other penguins surround it and prop it up. They walk around it until that penguin can walk on its own. That’s kind of what the cast did for me.”
However, there was one particular friend he felt he owed special thanks.
She was the one who confronted him about his drug and alcohol abuse during its height.
In a trailer for an upcoming interview with Diane Sawyer, Perry revealed it was Jennifer Aniston who called him out.
“We know you’re drinking,” she told him.
“Imagine how scary a moment that was,” he said, also mentioning that “she was the one that reached out the most. I’m really grateful to her for that.”
The trailer also revealed the extent of his drug problems.
He explained he was taking “55 Vicodin a day” along with “Methadone, Xanax” and “a full quart of vodka.”
It sounds like a harrowing, terrifying experience, one he’s incredibly strong for making it through.
Perry describes himself as “pretty healthy now.”
He doesn’t put an emphasis on how long he’s been sober, saying, “It’s important, but if you lose your sobriety, it doesn’t mean you lose all that time and education.”
He speaks even more about his sobriety and battle with addiction in his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, out on November 1.
h/t: Daily Mail
