Jamie Foxx is finally shedding light on the mysterious medical emergency that left fans worried in 2023. The 56-year-old actor and musician revealed in his newly released Netflix special, Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was…, that he suffered a brain bleed, which resulted in a stroke.
At the time, Jamie was in Atlanta, Georgia, filming the Netflix movie Back in Action. While the public was initially informed of a “medical event,” the details were kept private until now.
“April 11, I was having a bad headache, and I asked my boy for an aspirin,” Jamie began. “I realized quickly that when you’re in a medical emergency, your boys don’t know what the f— to do. Before I could get the aspirin [snaps fingers], I went out. I don’t remember 20 days.”
What followed was a series of life-threatening events and decisions that ultimately saved his life. Initially, Jamie visited a doctor who dismissed the severity of his symptoms and gave him a steroid shot. Reflecting on that moment, Jamie joked, “What the f— is that? I don’t know if you can do Yelps for doctors, but that’s half a star.”
Thankfully, his sister, Deidra Dixon, recognized the seriousness of the situation and rushed him to Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. “Y’all saved my life just 400 yards away from here in Piedmont Hospital. They put me back together again,” Jamie said. “[My sister] didn’t know anything about Piedmont Hospital, but she had a hunch that some angels [were] in there.”
Doctors quickly identified the problem: “He’s having a brain bleed that has led to a stroke. If I don’t go in his head right now, we’re going to lose him,” they told Deidra. Jamie described how she knelt outside the operating room, praying throughout his surgery.
Recounting his experience of being unconscious, Jamie shared, “Your life doesn’t flash before your face. It was kind of oddly peaceful. I saw the tunnel. I didn’t see the light. I was in that tunnel, though. It was hot in that tunnel. S—, am I going to the wrong place in this mother——? Because I looked at the end of the tunnel, and I thought I saw the devil like, ‘Come on.’”
Doctors were unable to pinpoint the exact source of the bleed but warned that recovery wouldn’t be easy. “They said, ‘He may be able to make a full recovery, but it’s going to be the worst year of his life.’ That’s what it was Atlanta. You finally got the story. You saved my life,” Jamie said, expressing his gratitude.
Jamie also recalled waking up on May 4th, weeks after the ordeal began. “When I woke up, I found myself in a wheelchair. I couldn’t walk, and I was like, ‘Why the f— am I in a wheelchair?’ I’m just coming out of s—.”
The journey hasn’t been easy, but Jamie’s story is one of resilience, gratitude, and survival. For fans, his candidness offers a deeper understanding of his life-changing ordeal and a reminder of the fragility of life.
