Nicholas Brendon‘s story continues to break our hearts…
The Buffy The Vampire Slayer alum has had a rough few years, both in terms of mental health and legal issues. Now it seems his physical health is failing as well.
As we told you a couple weeks ago, the now 50-year-old actor was arrested in Indiana last month on the serious charge of obtaining a prescription by fraud after being caught using a fake ID (possibly his twin brother’s) to get prescription drugs. He seems to barely have escaped a charge of trafficking as well, as the police report noted secret compartments and more drug paraphernalia.
But the bust he was hit with was enough to keep him in lockup for a bit, where he was forced to sleep on the concrete floor of a jail cell.
And that discomfort may have exacerbated a chronic back issue Nicholas suffers from called cauda equina syndrome.
According to Cedars-Sinai, cauda equina syndrome results when “a spinal disc presses on the nerve roots” that connect the spinal cord to the lower half of the body. The pressure “cuts off sensation and movement” and can lead to worse symptoms: “not being able to empty the bowel or bladder properly”, “loss of sexual sensation”, and even “permanent paralysis”.
Related: Bob Odenkirk Back On Set Of Better Call Saul A Month After Suffering Heart Attack
Nicholas is now dealing with some of the worst of it — according to his manager, Theresa Fortier, he’s had to pull out of all promotion for his upcoming Amazon film Wanton Want due to “immense pain” and the dire need for surgery.
He was supposed to be promoting the upcoming psychological thriller, something he was looking forward to focusing on instead of his IRL drama, but Fortier told DailyMail.com on Friday:
“Right now he is concentrating on his health. He is not doing promotion for the film.”
Fortier explained to the outlet his sudden decline, saying:
“This past week and a half, things have turned drastically worse. He is suffering from paralysis in his genitals and private parts.”
Oh no… She continued:
“He has had difficulties with flying. Sadly his condition means he needs surgical intervention for his increasing problems. I wish he was on the mend and able to promote this movie.”
That’s terrible!
The manager revealed Brendon believes it was the arrest which caused the worsening of his medical problems. She explained:
“During the arrest they were not quite careful with his condition. It has aggravated the symptoms of his previous injury and the paralysis is starting to reappear. He may have burst another disc or everything fell out of alignment. So sleeping on a cement floor with other inmates was not exactly conducive to healing and it aggravated his injury and since then he has been in immense pain with numbness and paralysis.”
She added:
“The hospital needs to bring him in for another spinal surgery to correct whatever it is that has happened.”
Poor guy…
As we alluded to, Nicholas has had a rocky past decade. His childhood sexual abuse led to a battle with alcoholism and other abuse. He’s been arrested several times, including for domestic violence. He’s tried rehab, notably after a 2015 suicide attempt, but thus far it has not taken.
[Image via Pia Productions/YouTube/Joseph Marzullo/WENN/Vigo County Jail.]
The post <i>Buffy</i> Star Nicholas Brendon Suffering 'Paralysis In His Genitals' & Other Health Issues After Drug Arrest appeared first on Perez Hilton.
