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For the first time, Jamie Foxx is disclosing the specifics of his medical journey.
The Oscar-winning actor was hospitalized in April 2023 while filming Back in Action in Atlanta due to an unexplained illness, which he now confirms was a brain bleed that progressed to a stroke.
I asked my boy for an aspirin on April 11 because I was suffering from a severe headache. During his emotional Netflix special, What Had Happened Was Dec. 10, Jamie said,I quickly realized that when you're in a medical emergency, your boys don't know what the f***k to do according to People. I went out before I could get the aspirin [snaps fingers]. I can't recall twenty days.
The Ray actor said that he was still experiencing the headache, so his friends took him to a doctor, who then gave him a cortisone shot for the pain. However, Jamie said that his sister, Deidra Dixon, knew something was wrong, so she took him to Atlanta, Georgia’s Piedmont Hospital, where he would get his scary prognosis.
Y'all saved my life just 400 yards away from here in Piedmont Hospital. They put me back together again,Jamie told the crowd, adding to his sister, She didn’t know anything about Piedmont Hospital, but she had a hunch that some angels [were] in there.”
And while his health scare had a positive outcome, Jamie said there were some low points, including upon his arrival when a doctor at the medical facility delivered Deidra “some horrible news about her brother.”
“He said, ‘He’s having a brain bleed that has led to a stroke,” Jamie explained. “‘If I don’t get in his head right now, we’re going to lose him.’”
He added that Deidra knelt down outside the operating room and prayed the whole time. While they couldn’t pinpoint where the bleed was coming from, the Jamie Foxx Show alum said his sister was told that it would be a hard and long road to recovery.
We didn't find where it was coming from, but he is having a stroke, he recalled a doctor telling Deidra. Even though he might fully recover, this year will be the worst of his life.
That's what it was, Atlanta, Jamie continued. At last, you understood the story. My life was saved by you.
Recalling being out of commission for 20 days and having to relearn fine motor skills like walking and talking after surgery while recovering at a Chicago rehabilitation center, the Django Unchained star broke down in tears once more.
20 days I don’t remember, but on May 4th I woke up,” Jamie revealed. “And when I woke up, I found myself in a wheelchair. I couldn’t walk, and in a
wheelchair, I was like, Why the f***k am I in a wheelchair?’ I’m just coming out of s**t.”
Jamie Foxx, the singer, has credited his family for keeping his condition private during his hospitalization. In July 2023, he made his first public appearance to thank his family and shut down rumors about his health. In October, he returned to the stage for a three-night engagement in Atlanta, Georgia, where he filmed the Netflix special. Jamie expressed his heart and soul, filled with pure joy and gratitude for the audience that showed up for his return to the stage in 18 years. He thanked Atlanta for being a supportive audience and for the opportunity to tell his side of the story.
