They've supposedly lived off the land in one of the roughest environments found in the
U.S.
But that's nothing compared to the sheer number of personal setbacks and health scares this
wild clan of reality TV has endured.
These are the tragic details that have come out about the Alaskan Bush People.
In April 2017, Ami was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, an ordeal that she described
to People magazine as "so dark."
"I think what's going on now is the most difficult thing we've ever gone through because of who
it's happening to, because it's Mom, and because of what it is."
But after receiving radiation and chemotherapy treatments, the matriarch learned in January
2018 that she was cancer-free, a miraculous feat given that she only had a reported "three
percent chance" of surviving the disease.
Ami's happiness was short-lived, however, once rumors started circulating that she had
made up the diagnosis.
One person tweeted, in part,
Another said,
The backlash eventually became so intense that Ami's doctor released a statement confirming
her medical records, telling People in March 2019, in part,
In October 2018, representatives for Discovery confirmed to Country Living that an upper
respiratory infection landed patriarch Billy Brown in the hospital.
The reality star's son, Bear Brown, also confirmed the news in a since-deleted Instagram post,
writing that his dad was "in really bad shape."
To make things worse, Ami Brown was either battling cancer or still recovering from her
cancer battle at the time of the incident.
It's likely Billy struggled to support Ami as he dealt with his infection.
Regarding her diagnosis, he told People,
Luckily for Billy, he was able to overcome the infection.
In the midst of Ami's battle with cancer, she lost her mother in November 2018.
The death was especially difficult for Ami because at the time of the 85-year-old's passing,
the two were reportedly estranged from one another.
A supposed insider told Radar Online,
It's not clear what led to the pair's estrangement, but Ami's brother told Radar Online that everything
went downhill after Ami left the family's Texas home at age 15 to marry Billy, who was
11 years her senior.
Matt Brown reportedly entered a rehab facility three times in the span of three years, starting
in spring 2016.
He told People,
Despite Matt's best efforts, he ended up returning to rehab in September 2018, a stint that supposedly
lasted 30 days.
Two months after his alleged departure, Matt reportedly went back to rehab again in January
2019.
An insider told Radar Online,
Matt Brown has had his fair share of troubles throughout the years, including a brush with
death in May 2017.
According to TMZ, he had decided to store a mason jar with gunpowder and cannon fuse
in his home refrigerator.
The mason jar ended up exploding, subsequently blowing the fridge door off.
In the explosion, Matt suffered a serious head injury that landed him in intensive care,
and according to People, doctors had to use nine staples to close his scalp.
Matt later said the concoction was supposed to be for bear repellent, adding,
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