She was a child star, won an Oscar at the age of ten and was considered a rising star in Hollywood. But then came the bitter crash. Tatum O’Neal slid into addiction. The career? Only played a supporting role. At the age of 59, she now draws a bitter balance – and speaks for the first time about those hours that decided her life or death only a few years ago.
Three years ago, Tatum O’Neal, 59, was on the brink of death. That May 2020, she overdosed. The fatal side effect: a severe stroke. The actress was in a coma for six weeks, as she reports in an exclusive interview with “People”. “I almost died,” she says. She survived, but her existence has been shaped by a daily struggle for her health and for abilities that previously seemed natural. Instead of posing beaming on the red carpet, she now spends her days in various rehabilitation facilities. Tatum must start from scratch, train her memory and regain her reading and writing skills.
Tatum O’Neal: Your children had little hope of survival
Her son Kevin, 37, also has his say, her eldest child from the eight-year marriage to tennis legend John McEnroe, 64, who divorced in 1994. When his mother went to the hospital, he remembers, “it was the call we always got had waited.” Tatum was intoxicated for decades. Her daughter and the two brothers were apparently constantly on the alert. Then that day in May came and the fear became real. “She also went into cardiac arrest and had a series of seizures,” Kevin recalls. “There were times when we didn’t think she would survive.” Even after the all-clear, the concern remained: will her mother ever be able to walk or speak again?
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Tatum fought. Her recovery process is exceeding expectations, but she says, “I’ve been through a lot.” What actually happened on that day, which was almost supposed to be her last on earth?
The corona pandemic had just shut down the world. The actress took prescription medications daily to treat her back and neck pain, as well as her rheumatoid arthritis, among other things [eine Autoimmunerkrankung, bei der das körpereigene Abwehrsystem die Innenhaut der Gelenke angreift; Anmerkung der Redaktion] should alleviate. But apparently she didn’t stick to the dosage prescribed by the doctor.
Corona isolation became Tatum’s undoing
An overdose of painkillers, opiates and morphine literally brought Tatum down. Luckily for her, a friend found her at her Los Angeles apartment. She was immediately taken to a hospital.
“She had become very isolated,” Kevin recalls of the weeks leading up to Day X. “With the addition of morphine and heavier drugs, it was starting to get scary. COVID, chronic pain, all those things led to a place of isolation. Me don’t think there was much hope for her in that situation.”
“At times it was on the brink”
In the hospital, the family is confronted with a nightmare. Tatum receives a devastating diagnosis: aphasia, an acquired speech disorder that is caused by a stroke in 80 percent of cases, according to the German Stroke Aid. The once hopeful child star was in a coma “and had right frontal cortex damage [Großhirnrinde; Anmerkung der Redaktion],” explains the son.
“At times it was on the brink,” says Kevin. “I had to call my brother and sister and tell them she will probably go blind and deaf and may never speak again.” Awakened from a coma, Tatum is unable to communicate. “She didn’t know where she was. She couldn’t say, ‘I’m scared.'” Her family wasn’t allowed to visit her at the time, the strict Covid rules only allowed visual contact through a pane of glass.
The addiction is still present
Tatum is still struggling to make a full recovery today. Your ability to speak has not been fully restored – and the urge to become addicted has not yet been overcome. “The emotions that drove my mother to do drugs are still very present,” explains Kevin. She is in daily therapy. “I’ve been trying to get sober my whole life,” says Tatum. “Every day I try.”
As her son, a writer who was addicted to alcohol and drugs himself, describes it: “She could always want sobriety as a mother, but she never really wanted it for herself.” Now he hopes – and sees in his mother the will to conquer her demons. “To me this final chapter where she wants to live, want to get sober, want to learn is a true miracle. I think that’s beautiful. I’ve never been so proud to be her son. She is full of love and full of heart.” And Tatum? “I try every day,” she assures. “I want to be with my three wonderful children.”
Tatum O’Neil suffered from fame and tragedy
Tatum O’Neal won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the film Paper Moon in 1974 at the age of 10, becoming the youngest-ever winner.
Tatum O’Neal won an Oscar at the age of ten for her supporting role in Paper Moon.
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Source used: people.com, schlaganfall-hilfe.de