Ashton Kutcher ‘Lucky to Be Alive’ After Autoimmune Disease That Left Him Unable to See, Hear, or Walk

Ashton Kutcher is counting his blessings. In a sneak peek of the actor’s upcoming appearance on Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge, Kutcher reveals that he privately battled an autoimmune disease 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,” he tells Grylls (via an Access Hollywood sneak peek). “It took me about a year to build it all back up.”

Vasculitis is a disease that causes the walls of a person’s blood vessels to thicken, sometimes cutting off blood supply to some organs and tissues.

“You don’t really appreciate it until it’s gone,” the That ’70s Show alum says. “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.’ ”

“I’m lucky to be alive,” he adds.

In the sneak peek of the National Geographic show, set to air Monday at 9 p.m. ET, Grylls and Kutcher chat while hiking through a wooded area filled with branches.

As the two get through the area, Kutcher opens up even more about the mindset that helped him overcome the difficult time. “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? You start surfing on top of your problems instead of living underneath them.”

Kutcher took to Twitter ahead of the episode to clarify the state of his recovery before any misinformation begins to spread, saying: “Before there are a bunch of rumors / chatter/ whatever out there. Yes, I had a rare vasculitis episode 3yrs ago. (Autoimmune flair up) I had some impairments [hearing], vision, balance issues right after. I fully recovered. All good. Moving on. See you at the 2022 NY Marathon.”