TV personality, Montel Williams has opened up about a stroke that almost had him lose his life.
He said he is happy to be alive, thankful for his wife, also glad to be a viewer of “The Dr. Oz Show.” Williams shared his experience to Robin Roberts on “Good Morning America” about the stroke that nearly claimed his life.
He said he was in New York City for work, in May, while working out, a loud pop and realized he was starting to exhibit the symptoms of a stroke victim. This included vision problems and drooling on one side of his mouth.
Montel Williams said, about a month before, he was watching ‘Dr. Oz’ and saw an episode on stroke.
He said at that moment, some key information covered in the program came rushing back to him.
He recalled the show advising people not to go to sleep or lay down in such an experience. So instead of giving in to the sudden fatigue that had hit him, he summoned energy and walked to the elevator, using the wall for support along the way.
“I could barely move,” he said.
Once he got back on his floor, entered his room and calling his wife.
In his words, Williams said, “I said, ‘Call an ambulance right now and tell them your husband just had a stroke,'” he recalled, his voice breaking with emotion. Adding that If she had not been in the room at that time, he would have lost his life.
Later at an intensive care,Williams was told he’d suffered a hemorrhagic stroke. He spent six days there with his wife by his side.
“That’s what kept me going,” he said.
After full recovery, Williams is now back and the new host of the series “Military Makeover,” which provides service members with home renovations.
Williams said at the time of his stroke experience, he was traveling to multiple cities per week, working out “in the gym like a 25-year-old,” and “pushing all the time.”
“It’s a warning that I want to send out to a lot of people,” he added.
Williams hopes his story helps others, particularly those with Type-A personalities like him who have a tendency to push themselves.
