Is Dean Winters okay? 'Oz' actor recounts multiple amputations and after-affects of a near-death experience

In a recent exclusive to Page Six, Oz, John Wick, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Dean Winters spoke about his multiple amputations and near-death experience in 2009. The star also revealed that he still encounters physical pain from his surgeries 12-years-ago.

The 57-year old star said:

"I've got neuropathy on, you know, on a whole different level where I can't feel my hands and my feet. But if I stepped on a pebble, it's like I go through the roof."

Winters had to undergo surgeries meant to amputate his two toes and half of a thumb that year. This left him in severe discomfort and pain, but he learned to live with the pain.

Winters said:

"I've been sucking it up because, you know, the alternative is not a place where I want to be."

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What happened to Dean Winters in 2009?

In 2009, while working on shows like 30 Rock and Rescue Me, Dean Winters was infected with a bacteria which caused him to collapse. Reportedly, he woke up with a fever and did not immediately seek medical attention. The next day, he woke up with a grayish tone to his skin. He told Page Six:

"I was afraid to go to St. Vincent's, so I went to my doctor's office on Central Park West, where I collapsed. I was turning black, and my whole head was swelling up."

Dean Winters later went into cardiac arrest while paramedics were taking him to Lenox Hill Hospital. However, paramedics were able to revive him after almost two and a half minutes. The New York native said:

"I was turning black, and my whole head was swelling up."

Dean Winters added:

"[When the ambulance was passing by Central Park] I died on Fifth Avenue."

After this ordeal, Winters had to spend three weeks in the ICU. Unfortunately, the actor's torment did not end there. While recovering from cardiac arrest, he developed gangrene - tissue death due to a lack of blood flow. This required the removal of two toes and half of the thumb.

Dean Winters reportedly spent more than three months in hospital undergoing over ten surgical procedures. The surgeries also dealt with the reconstruction of some parts of his hand using a skin graft.

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While the actor may not be at life-threatening risk from the infection now, he still faces discomfort and pain. Winters recently worked on the upcoming Peacock adaptation of Netflix's Tiger King called Joe Exotic. He spent several months in Australia shooting the show.