Sharon Stone Reveals She’s Lucky to Be Alive After Devastating Stroke in 2001

Sharon Stone is opening about her devastating 2001 stroke, claiming that she’s lucky to be alive.

The award-winning actress, now 59, spoke to Radio Times about the devastating stroke she had in 2001 that nearly claimed her life. At the age of 43, she says, she found herself having to relearn how to walk, speak, and write, Metro reports.

“In 2001, I had a stroke and a nine-day brain hemorrhage that changed my life forever. I had a five per cent chance of surviving. When I came home after the stroke, I could barely walk. My hip was unstable. I couldn’t see out of my left eye and I couldn’t hear out of my left ear,” Stone said.

Being discharged from the hospital and returning home was only the beginning of Stone’s struggle, the actress having to relearn many tasks that she had previously taken for granted, and she says that she has TV to thank.

“I couldn’t write my name for almost three years,” she said. “I couldn’t get my arm to listen to my mind, so I had to learn to read and write again. I had to learn to speak again. It took years for the feeling to come back to my left leg, but it finally came back.”

“I didn’t know how to do my lines, but now I’m really together,” she said, stating that watching TV helped her learn lines again and strengthened her memory.

This isn’t the first time that the actress has opened up about her ordeal. In January, Stone sat down for an interview with CBS’ Lee Cowan.

“There was about a five percent chance of me living… My whole life was wiped out. Others aren’t that interested in a broken person,” she said.

Stone added that when she did get back to work, things still felt off.

“I’m sure I seemed peculiar coming through this all these years, and I didn’t want to tell everybody what was happening because, you know, this is not a forgiving environment,” she explained.

Now Stone balances being a single mother to three boys and her career, the actress gearing up for her return to HBO’s Mosaic.