Following a high-profile interview with Matt Lauer on the Today show, Hollywood star, Charlie Sheen, has penned an open letter regarding his HIV diagnosis.
The former Two and a Half Men star, who took to the airwaves earlier today in order to confirm speculation which had surrounded him in recent months, elaborated on his current situation in a revealing open letter today.
Outlining the chain of events which set into motion a devastating period in the actor's life, Charlie began by writing: "Roughly four years ago, I suddenly found myself in the throws of a seismic and debilitating three-day cluster migraine like headache."
"I was emergently hospitalised with what I believed to be a brain tumour or perhaps some unknown pathology. I was partially correct," he admitted.
Giving an insight into the procedures he underwent at the time, he continued: "Following a battery of endless tests, that included a hideous spinal tap, it was sadly and shockingly revealed to me that I was, in fact, positive for HIV."
Charlie, who hit the headlines in recent years for his hedonistic lifestyle, offers an insight into this period in his life, writing: "The personal disbelief, karmic confusion, shame and anger lead to a temporary yet abysmal decent into profound substance abuse and fathomless drinking. It was a suicide run."
Despite his "loathsome and horrific odyssey", doctors reported positive results in his treatment, with Charlie writing: "Even though I might have been trying to kill myself, one thing was radically evident; the disease was not."
The star, who revealed he had paid out millions of dollars to people threatening to disclose his diagnosis to the press, referred to those individuals in his letter, saying: "Sadly, my truth soon became their treason, as a deluge of blackmail and extortion took centre stage in this circus of deceit."
The actor, who rose to fame in the mid-80s, is determined to change his perspective of the diagnosis which had initially devastated him four years ago, insisting: "I accept this condition not as a curse or scourge, but rather as an opportunity and a challenge."
"An opportunity to help others. A challenge to better myself. My partying days are behind me. My philanthropic days are ahead of me," he explained in the letter which is currently circulating on social media.
Finishing his letter with a well-known quote from Ernest Hemingway, the popular Hollwood star concluded "Courage is grace under pressure. I’ve served my time under pressure; I now embrace the courage, and the grace."
We wish Charlie the very best.
