Addicted Friends star ‘was in coma’

FRIENDS star Matthew Perry has revealed how a drink and drug addiction saw him spend weeks in a coma and nearly die after his colon burst.

The actor, pictured, said he was given a 2 per cent chance of survival four years ago before spending months in hospital.

After suffering a gastrointestinal perforation from drug abuse, Perry, 53, said he had to use a colostomy bag for nine months. He also said he’s had 14 surgeries on his stomach and in a bid to get clean he’s been to rehab 15 times.

Now sober, the star, best known for playing funny and sarcastic Chandler Bing, has detailed his decades-long battle to rid himself of the disease of addiction.

Speaking about when he was first admitted to hospital, he said: ‘The doctors told my family that I had a 2 per cent chance to live. 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 told People magazine: ‘ I wanted to share when I was safe from going into the dark side of everything again.

‘I had to wait until I was pretty safely sober – and away from the active disease of alcoholism and addiction – to write it all down. And the main thing was, I was pretty certain that it would help people.’

Soon after landing his starring role on Friends aged 24, his alcohol addiction began to surface. He said he could handle it but he was ‘entrenched in a lot of trouble’ by the time he was 34. At one point, he admits he was taking 55 painkillers a day and was down to nine stone in weight, yet he ‘didn’t know how to stop’.

He said the disease became worse as he grew older and noted his Friends cast mates ‘were understanding, and they were patient’.

Perry added: ‘I’m pretty healthy now.’ He chose not to say how long he has been sober for but is ‘counting each day’.

He said the scars on his stomach serve as a reminder to stay sober.