Joe Manganiello Reveals Life-Threatening Health Battle Resulting in ‘Amputation’

Joe Manganiello revealed he suffered from life-threatening autoimmune-related illnesses that resulted in him having an amputation.

via: EW

Manganiello's forthcoming memoir, “Bloodlines,”  which hits shelves on Oct. 16, follows the 49-year-old True Blood actor as he details “a previously undisclosed health ordeal — marked by multiple near-death experiences and medical crises — that led him beyond medicine and into a remarkable, globe-spanning quest that revealed answers about his ancestry, inherited trauma, and the deeper histories we carry,” per a press release.

In it, Manganiello writes that his health suddenly deteriorated “without warning” one day as “a cascade of autoimmune-related illnesses attacked his skin, thyroid, eyes, lungs, and digestive system,” the synopsis reads.

The mysterious ailments led to a seven-year-long health battle in which Manganiello was “plagued by chronic pain” and underwent a “life-saving organ amputation, existential crisis, and a prolonged fight for survival that left doctors with few answers and no clear explanation,” the synopsis continues.  

The Deal or No Deal Island host described the period as “the most brutally difficult time in my life” in a statement to PEOPLE, adding, “One I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, but also my greatest adventure.” 

He continued, "I hope that what I went through on this journey can give readers hope that answers and healing may lie for them on the other side of whatever they are fighting through. The process of writing this book gave me the gift of perspective that helped me to see that my suffering was a cocoon from which I would emerge forever changed.”

In addition to his health battle, Bloodlines will also see Manganiello reflect upon “inheritance, masculinity, faith, ambition, and the identities we build to endure,” the synopsis shares.