Andy Dick reveals shocking brain damage after being clinically dead from overdose
Andy Dick reveals he was clinically dead after his December overdose, with doctors finding "five to seven holes" in his brain from years of drug use.
After suffering from an overdose on the streets of Los Angeles in December, Andy Dick is coming clean.
The actor opened up on the "Howie Mandel Does Stuff" podcast about his struggles with addiction, being clinically dead after he overdosed and how his years of drug use has left him with "five to seven holes" in his brain.
The conversation began with Mandel talking about how he saw Dick a few weeks before the overdose. He remembered being "upset" with Dick, and said he was "being really serious" with him about the state he was in.
ANDY DICK SAYS ‘F--- NO’ TO REHAB AFTER APPARENT OVERDOSE IN HOLLYWOOD
"You looked like you were going to die that day," Mandel told him, "and then you ended up dying a few weeks later on camera."
"I did, you're right," Dick agreed.
Mandel later asked, "Were you dead? Did your heart stop? Like legitimately clinically dead?"
"Yeah," Dick answered. "Purple, not breathing."
The "NewsRadio" actor previously said that he overdosed after taking crack cocaine from a stranger on the street, but he now says he's not entirely sure what he smoked that day. He did say that the stranger is the person who administered Narcan, a nasal spray that can reverse overdoses.
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Now, Dick is clean, and he's staying in a sober-living house where he undergoes regular drug testing.
He admitted that his memory is affected by his years of drug use and explained that during a recent CAT scan, doctors discovered "about five to seven holes" in his brain.
Mandel spoke about being sober himself, and said that what helps him maintain his sobriety is the urge to "protect" his family and his career. He told Dick, who has three children and two grandchildren, that "It seems like you are less cognizant of protecting that."
Dick didn't argue, and when Mandel pressed him on why, he said, "Boredom. I get bored easily."
But when the topic of grandchildren came up, he shared that his daughter is pregnant, and when Mandel asked if he's going to "stay sober for this," he said, "I have to, buddy. I just have to."
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
The conversation ended with Mandel saying, "I wanted you to come here to say, you don't have a lot of chances left, buddy. You don't. And you had a lot of chances, and a lot of people root for you, and they're worried about you, and you gotta …"
"Pull it together," Dick finished.
This isn't the first time Dick has had public struggles with addiction.
In 1999, he was arrested after crashing his car into a utility pole in Los Angeles. He was hit with multiple charges, including driving under the influence and possession of cocaine, but the charges were ultimately dismissed when he completed a drug treatment program.
He was arrested multiple times in subsequent years, and, in 2022, he was convicted of misdemeanor sexual battery stemming from an incident with an Uber driver in 2018. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and ordered to register as a sex offender.