Celebrity hairdresser Michael Douglas had an unforgettable brush with death after a routine procedure went horribly wrong. The 51-year-old was getting an operation for his recurring collapsed lung condition when a simple epidural turned into a near-death experience.
At 20, Michael was rushed into surgery after his lungs had collapsed numerous times since he was just a teen. The medical team planned an epidural to ease his pain while his lungs were treated. However, things went south when morphine was mistakenly injected into his spinal cord, shutting down his brain and causing his organs to fail. For nearly three minutes, Michael was clinically dead on the operating table.
Recalling this traumatic moment on a podcast, Michael mentioned waking up in intensive care, unable to move, and battling to breathe against a sea of tubes. The morphine had left him paralysed, and doctors weren’t sure if he’d ever fully recover. Miraculously, after the drug drained from his system over the course of a week, his body slowly began to respond, and fears of permanent damage started to fade.
The ordeal wasn’t just a medical mishap but a life lesson for Michael and the medical staff involved. The anaesthetist confessed their mistake, prompting reflections on the fragility of life and the unpredictable nature of medical procedures.
Michael, now in a relationship with TV star Davina McCall, remains grateful for his second chance at life and shares this intense story as a reminder of the human side of healthcare. Let’s hope he continues to shine and brings smiles through his work in the beauty industry!