The 'Succession' actor, who came close to dying in 2001 after an illness progressed to septic shock and kidney failure, claims he has no real understanding of why he got better.
- November 16, 2020
AceShowbiz - "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" star Alan Ruck considers himself extremely lucky to be alive after contracting a lethal virus from a hot tub session.
The "Succession" actor nearly died in 2001 when he came down with what at first appeared to be the flu before the illness progressed to septic shock and kidney failure, causing the star to collapse.
"It was serious - they (medical doctors) told my ex-wife for the first two days, 'We don't think he's going to make it'," Ruck recalled on the "Celebrity Catchup" Podcast.
In addition to the grim initial prognosis, doctors also suspected he would be severely mentally handicapped for the remainder of his life before his condition miraculously began to improve.
"Then they said, 'He's going to be on dialysis for the rest of his life', but then for some reason my kidneys started to get better," the 64-year-old detailed.
No clear medical conclusions were ever drawn about the source of the deadly mysterious disease, but Alan is convinced he may have contracted the virus when he stubbed his toe in a dirty hot tub.
"After I got sick I talked with many people who were like, 'I was on a cruise and I got the same thing - I had a strep infection in my bloodstream', which is basically the old fashioned way of saying it is blood poisoning," he shared. "We have no real idea exactly how it happened, and no real understanding of why I got well."
Alan is grateful for the experience, as it gave him a new lease on life: "If you wake up in the morning and you feel OK... that's a good day," the "Speed" star stressed. "That old saying if you have your health you have everything is really true. You can have all the money in the world, but if your body doesn't work it doesn't mean anything."
