Chad Michael Murray Says He Nearly Died as a Teen After Losing Half His Blood

What he told the podcast

Chad Michael Murray spoke about the event on the Great Company podcast while he was in the U.K. to support the new film Freakier Friday, and his story then spread across entertainment outlets. He said that at 15 his intestines twisted and he had internal bleeding. He described being in hospital for more than two months, having surgery, drifting in and out of consciousness, and losing about half of the blood in his body. He said staff talked about last rites and that a blood transfusion from a nurse named Sandy helped save him. TMZ

How the illness changed him then and now

Murray said the hospital stay left him very thin and weak, and that his weight fell sharply from about 180 pounds to roughly 118 pounds by the time he left care, a change he still recalls.

He linked that time to the direction his life took later on, noting that nurses and others who saw him encouraged him and that this helped push him toward modeling and then acting in TV and films. He also said he now avoids alcohol and follows a clean diet because he wants to stay healthy and avoid a repeat of that crisis.

The path from danger to work on screen

Just a few years after the event, Murray landed small parts and later bigger roles on shows like Dawson Creek, Gilmore Girls, and One Tree Hill, and he appeared in the original Freaky Friday. He returned to the franchise for the new release and has been talking to media about his old health scare while the movie is in theaters. Fans and commentators have noted his long career and the fact that this early brush with death is not widely known.

My take on his account and its meaning

Murray’s story reads as a sobering reminder that an early health crisis can shape a life in hard to see ways, and his account holds two main lessons for me. First, when a young person faces a major medical emergency the ripple effects can reach into career choices and family ties, and his turn toward health and routine now looks like a direct response to that trauma.

Second, public figures who share these moments make illness easier to talk about, and that can matter to people who face fear in silence. The way Murray described his father talking to a priest and the slow recovery points to deep strain on his family, and that human detail explains why he now talks openly about diet and no alcohol. I find that honest and useful for fans who may only know his work on screen.

Why this matters to readers

This item matters because it shows how a single medical event can change a life path, and it shows the limits of fame in protecting a person from private danger. Murray’s account gives a direct link from an early health scare to career choices and a new focus on health. For viewers and parents this story offers a simple reminder to take abdominal pain seriously and to follow up with care when symptoms do not go away.

Sources: TMZ