A little over three years ago,Tatum O’Nealoverdosed so severely that she had a near fatal stroke and fell into a six-week coma.
At times, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to speak again. “I woke up from a coma, without any words,” says the 59-year-old actress.
She tells the story of her remarkable — and ongoing — path to recovery in this week’s PEOPLE. “I was in a coma and nobody could figure out if I was going to die or if I was going to live,” says O’Neal. “And I lived.”
Andrew Southam
To read more about Tatum O’Neal’s journey toward recovery, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now.
O’Neal, who was diagnosed withaphasia(an injury to her brain that affects spoken and written language) is now working on regaining her full vocabulary and relearning to read with regular speech therapy.
Coming out of the coma, “the first thing I thought about was my mother,” recalls O’Neal, the daughter of actorRyan O’Neal, 82, and his first wife Joanna Moore (who died in 1997). “But I didn’t know where I was. What to think. And I had no words. Nothing.”
“She couldn’t say ‘I’m scared,’” says her eldest sonKevin McEnroe, 37.
At times, he and his younger siblings, Sean, 35, and Emily McEnroe, 32, (from their mom’s tumultuous marriage to tennis champ John McEnroe) weren’t sure what her quality of life would be — when, or if — she woke up.
Tatum O’Neal with her kids Kevin, Emily and Sean, circa 1993-94.courtesy tatum o’neal
courtesy tatum o’neal
“I was worried she might be like a vegetable,” says Kevin, “And what are we going to do — and then I got a call from the health care facility that she had escaped. And I remember thinkingTatum’s still in thereand it actually made me happy. I thoughtshe’s still in there, we’re going to get through this.”
“That might not have been the normal reaction,” adds Kevin. “But I just thought the fighter in her was overcoming some of this stuff.”
Tatum wasn’t so sure at the time.
“I kept wanting to leave, I’ll tell you that,” she says.
“Three and a half years ago, the doctors had no anticipation that she would be able to speak, to see, to walk,” adds daughter Emily. “She’s an unbelievable survivor.”
Tatum O’Neal holding her Oscar for ‘Paper Moon’ at the 1974 Academy Awards.Hulton Archive
Hulton Archive
Their mom’s decades-long struggle with drug addiction — an endless cycle of rehabs, recovery and relapse — has made a lasting impact on her three kids. They have bonded together in support of her recovery and hope their story can help others. “Seeing her drive for sobriety right now, we’re all on this journey together,” says Emily. “Not going too far ahead and not going too far back. It’s just about trying. There’s no finish line but we can share in the pain and the joy and the frustration and the love — and all the in between. Living is in her favor.”
Kevin McEnroe with Tatum O’Neal in 2022.Courtesy Kevin McEnroe8BIM
Courtesy Kevin McEnroe8BIM
O’Neal continues to work on her newfoundsobriety. “No more drugs. No more pills. I don’t want to use anymore,” says O’Neal, who wears a suboxone patch to treat opioid addiction and goes to daily (or more) twelve-step meetings. “I’m trying so hard with sobriety. I just take it one day at a time.”
“Of all the millions of possibilities how she could have turned out after this, for her to have this incredible spirit is like — if you don’t believe in God, I don’t know how you cannot now because this is the biggest miracle I have ever witnessed. It feels like the universe saved her — and cared about her.”
source: people.com
