Actor Ahn Jae-wook recalled the time he collapsed from a brain hemorrhage in the United States.
On the 19th, Ahn Jae-wook appeared as a guest on KBS2’s ‘Park Won-sook’s Let’s Live Together’.
On that day, Ahn Jae-wook shared that he experienced a brain hemorrhage while abroad, saying, “A friend living in the U.S. was getting married late, and I was supposed to officiate. However, the filming of my drama got extended, so I couldn’t go. After finishing the drama, I was doing a musical and had a two-week break. At that time, I decided to go to the U.S. to travel with the couple.”
He continued, “On the first day, I felt nauseous. Since I was not feeling well, I told them to have fun while I rested in my room. Then, I went upstairs and started throwing up alone, and I couldn’t breathe. I pressed the back of my neck like the adults did in old dramas. There was a sound like cardboard tearing.”
He recalled, “At that moment, my friend called and said, ‘Shouldn’t you take some medicine? I’ll come up first.’ When they came up, they said my face was pale. They immediately called an ambulance and took me to the hospital.”
Ahn Jae-wook said, “Fortunately, the surgery went well. They opened my head for the surgery, but when I first regained consciousness, I tried not to open my eyes. I just kept them closed. I wished this wasn’t reality. More than the joy of being alive, I resented the heavens. I often thought to myself, ‘Why me?’ I felt resentful about what I had done wrong in my life.”
When Park Won-sook mentioned, “I heard that the hospital bills were high because there was no medical insurance,” Ahn Jae-wook replied, “I heard that when I was discharged. The hospital bill was 500,000 dollars, and I almost collapsed again. I almost couldn’t be discharged. At that time, it was about 500 million won.” He added, “In our country, you have to pay for the surgery, but there, they save you first and then collect the hospital fees. Afterward, they often lower the bill after hearing the circumstances.”
Ahn Jae-wook stated, “It took me over two years to pay off the hospital bills. I negotiated the bills down. After coming back to Korea, I received help from a medical lawyer and exchanged emails continuously to reduce it to less than half.”
He added, “I recovered well and was able to meet my wife and child. If it had ended then, I wouldn’t have had my wife and child in my life.”
[Lee Se-bin, Star Today Guest Reporter]
