Ashton Kutcher’s Brother on Reflects Role Brother Played After Cerebral Palsy Diagnosis
By Movieguide® Contributor
Ashton Kutcher and his twin brother Michael sat down for their first-ever joint interview in an episode of Paramount+’s THE CHECKUP WITH DR. DAVID AGUS where they discussed their health.
Michael was born with Cerebral palsy and diagnosed with heart failure at age 13. He was given a four-week life expectancy, but he defied the odds and received a successful heart transplant.
“I almost died at birth, almost died with a heart transplant,” Michael shared. “But I’m still here.”
He said he found himself wondering what his “purpose” was, especially after his brother found fame and shared Michael’s diagnosis with the world—something that initially upset him.
“I didn’t want to be the face of CP. I never talked about it,” he shared.
However, Michael said he eventually decided to use his newfound “notoriety” for “the greater good” and forgave Ashton for sharing his diagnosis publicly.
“He allowed me to be myself…and I knew because of my twin, I’d have a big reach,” Michael explained. He also shared that Ashton would be sharing some of his own personal health stories on the episode.
Ashton recently revealed that he was diagnosed with vasculitis, which temporarily “knocked out” his vision and hearing.
Movieguide® previously reported on Ashton’s condition:
Ashton Kutcher recently took to Twitter to clarify his comments about a health scare he made while appearing on RUNNING WILD WITH BEAR GRYLLS: THE CHALLENGE.
“Before there are a bunch of rumors/ chatter/ whatever out there,” Kutcher tweeted. “Yes, I had a rare vasculitis episode 3yrs ago. (Autoimmune flair up) I had some impairments hear, vision, balance issues right after. I fully recovered. All good. Moving on.”
Vasculitis is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in the blood vessels, narrowing them. This restricts blood flow and can cause damage to the organs and tissue.
While appearing on the show, Kutcher told Grylls, “Like two years ago, I had this weird, super rare form of vasculitis, that knocked out my vision, it knocked out my hearing, it knocked out like all my equilibrium. It took me like a year to build it all back up.”
“You don’t really appreciate it until it’s gone,” he continued. “Until you go, ‘I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to see again, I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to hear again, I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to walk again.’”
Grylls praised Kutcher for being “strong and resilient.”
“The minute you start seeing your obstacles as things that are made for you, to give you what you need, then life starts to get fun, right?” Kutcher shared. “You start surfing on top of your problems instead of living underneath them.”
The Kutchers’ episode of THE CHECKUP WITH DR. DAVID AGUS is now available to stream on Paramount+.
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