'Boy Meets World' Star Will Friedle Hospitalised After Waking Up 'Peeing Blood' in Kidney Stone Scare

Boy Meets World star Will Friedle, 50, has revealed he was rushed to hospital in the US on Saturday after waking up at home and, in his words, 'badly peeing blood', with doctors later diagnosing a kidney stone.
Friedle described the ordeal on the 8 October episode of Pod Meets World, the podcast he co-hosts with former Boy Meets World co-stars Danielle Fishel and Rider Strong. The show, which has run since 2022, sees the trio rewatch and discuss episodes of the ABC sitcom.
He said doctors told him the stone was small enough not to need a procedure to break it up. He must instead wait for it to pass naturally, a process they warned could be extremely painful.
'No Colour in Your Face': Will Friedle's Scare
Friedle said the problem became clear when he went to the bathroom after waking. 'I woke up badly peeing blood,' he said, adding that he thought something inside him was 'horribly broken'.
He said his wife noticed the change as soon as he came out of the bathroom. 'You had no colour in your face,' she told him, he recalled. He said he joked that he had 'peed it all away' and needed to go to hospital.
The rest of the day passed in tests and scans, he said. All treatment areas were full, so he spent much of it on a gurney in an emergency department corridor. A CT scan showed the stone.
Waiting for the Kidney Stone To Pass
'I've got three days of just waiting to see,' he told his co-hosts, adding that he was still 'in the midst of this thing' as they recorded.
He said he had been prescribed the opioid painkiller OxyContin but did not intend to take it, citing 'too many horror stories' about the drug. He said he was hydrating and hoping the stone would pass quickly, and half-joked that he might have to leave the recording if the pain worsened.
What Are Kidney Stones?
Kidney stones are hard deposits of minerals and salts that form inside the kidneys. Many are small enough to leave the body in the urine without treatment, but they can cause severe pain as they move through the urinary tract.
According to the NHS, common symptoms include severe pain in the side or back, nausea and blood in the urine. Small stones can take days or weeks to pass, and treatment usually involves painkillers and drinking plenty of fluids. Larger stones may need to be broken up with shockwave therapy or removed surgically.
Blood in the urine can have several causes, including infection, and should always be checked by a doctor. The NHS advises seeking urgent help if the pain is severe or comes with a high temperature or shivering.
Hospital Staff Recognise Eric Matthews
Friedle played Eric Matthews in Boy Meets World, which ran from 1993 to 2000, and said staff at the hospital recognised him. 'For some reason on this day in that hospital, I was more famous than I've ever been in my life,' he joked.
He said a nurse who was taking his payment details and explaining what he owed broke into the 'Feeny Call'. This is the drawn-out shout Eric used in the series to summon his neighbour and teacher, Mr Feeny.
Friedle said his private reaction was 'just filled up a glass with blood, but thank you'. He kept it polite in the moment, saying staff 'couldn't have been sweeter'.
Friedle has largely moved into voice work since the sitcom ended, including Ron Stoppable in Kim Possible and Terry McGinnis in Batman Beyond. He has previously spoken about anxiety that began in his early twenties and led him away from on-screen roles.