The actor finally found out that his bowels were severely inflamed and clogged with scar tissue from a Crohn's disease flare-up after seeing a gastroenterologist.
- Jan 19, 2023
AceShowbiz - Tyler James Williams revealed that he almost died due to untreated Crohn's disease. The "Abbott Elementary" star, who didn't know his diagnosis until 2017, recalled his harrowing experience when sitting down with Men's Health.
"I was really pushing my body to the limit," the 30-year-old actor, who was also busy juggling roles on "Criminal Minds" and "Detroit" at the time, divulged to the magazine. "By the time December hit, it just crashed. Everything shut down."
Tyler then sought treatment from a gastroenterologist, and that was when he learned that his bowels were severely inflamed and clogged with scar tissue from a Crohn's disease flare-up. It led him to undergo emergency surgery to remove six inches of the lower intestine.
Unfortunately, Tyler's intestines weren't strong enough to heal properly. The actor suffered a perforation, which made him go septic and nearly die as he was rushed back into surgery. "The last thought I had was, 'Holy s**t, this could be it,' " he recounted. " 'If this is it, I'm not happy. I worked a lot. I did a lot of things. I didn't enjoy any of this. This can't be it.' "
Tyler noted that he lost 25 pounds in total following his months-long recovery. From the ordeal, Tyler said he "had to learn how to stop making a dramatic change happen really quickly and learn how to have a better relationship with my body."
"The important thing for me, and those like me, to remember is that longevity is a big part of the game," the "Everybody Hates Chris" shared. He continued, "If you can't [stay strong] and be healthy, there really is no point."
