Whoopi Goldberg has confessed that she nearly died of pneumonia, in an interview with People magazine. Now she is making changes to make sure she doesn’t get that close to a tragic outcome again – and she’s warning others to be more careful.
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“The doctor told me, ‘Listen, you’re not going anywhere tomorrow and you’re not going anywhere next week because you are really sick,” Whoopi told PEOPLE.
“‘You were this close to dying.’ ”
The news came as a shock to the actress as she felt she wasn’t actually that unwell. Now she wants others to face the terrifying truth that the condition can prove fatal if underestimated.
“I was like, ‘Really?’ I never thought of pneumonia as something that serious. In my mind I wasn’t that sick. I hope that this is a cautionary tale for people. You have to take the time to take care of yourself.”
As a result of her illness, the 63-year-old had to have her lungs drained twice and after undergoing chest therapy, Whoopi says she feels better although her progress is slow.
“I get winded going up stairs and I still can’t get on my treadmill,” she says. “Nobody wants to feel like they can’t do something, but your body says no sometimes. And that’s just fine. I never want to relapse so I’m okay taking the stairs easy. I don’t care about old-lady jokes. Bring them on!”
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