WhenWhoopi Goldbergcaught what she thought was a common cold last fall, she never imagined it would eventuallyland her in the hospitalfor nearly a month, with doctors telling her that she had a 30 percent chance of dying.
“I’m very, very lucky,”theViewco-host says in the latest issue of PEOPLE.
While in the hospital, Goldberg had to have her lungs drained twice via a procedure called thoracentesis, in which a needle is inserted into the space between the lungs and the chest wall to remove fluid. A catheter was then put in place to continuously remove fluid.
Matt Baron/Shutterstoc
“The doctor told me, ‘Listen, you’re not going anywhere tomorrow and you’re not going anywhere next week because you are really sick.”
For more on Whoopi Goldberg’s health crisis pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
CHRIS ALLERTON/AFP/Getty Images
After taking a six-week hiatus fromThe View,she returned March 18 and is now back to appearing four days a week. But Goldberg says thatshe’s still recovering.
“It’s going to be a while before I’m back to 100 percent,” she says. “It reallytook me down,but I’m getting there.”
To help her body heal, Goldberg had to alter her usual schedule.
RELATED VIDEO: Here’s What You Need to Know If You Get the Flu
Goldberg hopes that sharing the story of her health scare can help others.
“I never thought of pneumonia as something that serious. In my mind I wasn’t that sick,” she admits. “I hope that this is a cautionary tale for people. You have to take the time to take care of yourself.”
“I’m lucky to be alive. I’m happy to be alive,” Goldberg tells PEOPLE. “I’m grateful to be alive.”
source: people.com
