Adam DeVine with the cast of Modern Family

Modern Family star told he was 'dying' in terrifying health diagnosis

The Modern Family star opened up about his difficult diagnosis

TV & Film Editor

April 8, 2025Apr 8, 2025, 12:20 PM GMT+1

A Modern Family star has spoken candidly about a terrifying health diagnosis where doctors told him that he was dying from a devastating syndrome.

Adam Devine, who portrayed Andy Bailey in the beloved comedy, revealed that he has struggled with chronic pain all of his life after being run over by a cement truck aged 11, leading to a terrifying diagnosis in the last year.

Adam played Haley's love interest Andy in Modern Family

Speaking on the podcast In Depth with Graham Bensinger, the 41-year-old explained: "They told me I was dying. Literally, within this last year, they told me that. They told me I had this disease called stiff-person syndrome.

"And that’s when your muscles get so tight that you then, you can no longer walk. You can no longer move, then your heart will stop beating because your heart is a muscle and it gets too tight to beat, and then you die."

Adam Devine attends the Los Angeles premiere of Netflix's The Out-Laws at Regal LA Live

However, he ultimately consulted a specialist, who gave him a different diagnosis, clarifying that his pain was caused by his childhood accident.

What is stiff person syndrome?

Stiff person syndrome is a rare neurological disorder.

Symptoms of stiff person syndrome include muscle rigidity in the trunk and arms, often triggered by noise, touch and emotional distress. Celine's condition is characterised by muscle spasms.

People with stiff person syndrome suffer from frequent falls, because they lack defensive reflexes to save themselves. Sufferers are often unable to walk or move, and it's twice as common in women than in men.

It's not known what causes the disorder, and it's often misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, psychosomatic illness, or anxiety and phobia.

The disorder doesn't have a cure, though anti-anxiety drugs, muscle relaxants, and anti-convulsants. Pain relief can also improve symptoms.

He added: "And he’s like, ‘You don’t have it. You do not have it.’ He’s like, ‘This is from your accident, from when you were a child. The spasms are a little unexplainable, but it could just be you got so tight that your body doesn’t know what to do with it. So, you’re misfiring a little bit."

Childhood injury

The actor's childhood injury has clearly had a major impact on his life, as he also supports Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, which raises funds for children's hospitals. Speaking about supporting the cause, he wrote: "As a lot of you may know (because I won’t SHUT UP about it) I was hit by a cement truck as a kid. I couldn’t walk for two years and had to completely relearn how to walk. That is why I am so supportive of @cmnhospitals."

A photo of Adam as a child from Disney+'s Becoming documentary

"When I was in the hospital I was in constant pain. The nurses would always come in and have to adjust my legs, which were fully skin grafted, and in traction. The pain was next level. A cool nurse gave me this squirt gun and said if anyone was picking on me to hose them! It helped me forget about the pain if only for a little.

Adam's personal life

Adam is now married to The Righteous Gemstones actress Chloe Bridges, and the pair welcomed a baby son, Beau, in February 2024.

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