Pauley Perrette is letting everyone know she’s a tough cookie.
In a video posted to Twitter Friday, the former “NCIS” star revealed she suffered a “massive stroke” last September.
“Oh my god, it’s September 2: It’s the one-year anniversary since I had a stroke,” said Perrette in the video. “Yes, I’m still here, again. How many times do I cheat death? I almost died from a hair dye allergy; I have food allergies; I am a domestic violence and a rape survivor; I was assaulted by a crazy homeless person and almost died, and I’m still here.”
She continued: “I’ve been through a lot in the last two years, things that are harder than having a stroke. But I’m still here. And I’m so grateful.”
Perrette opened up more about the health ordeal in an interview with Entertainment Tonight published Tuesday.
“I woke up and had no feeling on the entire right side of my body,” Perrette recalled of the stroke’s onset. “At first I thought I had just slept funny. … (I) couldn’t feel my finger touching my face, couldn’t feel my face being touched by my finger, couldn’t feel my laptop sitting on my lap, no feeling at all on the right-hand side — I could have burned myself or cut my finger off and wouldn’t have known.”
After a phone call with her doctor, Perrette went to the emergency room, where she said she was swiftly placed “on a gurney with a million things stuck in my arms and a bunch of medical people rushing me somewhere.”
“They know how serious a stroke is and how immediate care is imperative,” Perrette explained.
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A stroke takes place when “something blocks blood supply to part of the brain or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts,” according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A stroke is “a serious medical condition” requiring immediate emergency care, as it can cause “lasting brain damage, long-term disability, or even death.”
Perrette said she’s “totally OK now” and is using her experience to raise awareness about the seriousness of strokes.
“(I) really want people to get educated about all signs of a stroke, especially that you can have one at any age,” Perrette said. “By knowing signs of a stroke, we can save ourselves and others.”
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