Ryan O’Neal Nearly Lost His Daughter Who Suffered a 6-Week Coma & Woke up Unable to Speak
In July 2023, Tatum O’Neal, Ryan O’Neal’s daughter, revealed she was in a six-week coma after suffering a severe stroke in May 2020 caused by an overdose of prescription medicines. The actress confessed how she’d almost died due to that incident.
Kevin McEnroe, 37, her oldest child with former husband, John McEnroe, confessed that he and his siblings had anticipated the phone call about his mother being in hospital due to an overdose. He also revealed that Tatum, 59, suffered several seizures and went into cardiac arrest.
Tatum O’Neal and Ryan O’Neal in “Paper Moon” circa 1973 | Source: Getty Images
Kevin admitted that there were moments they didn’t think their mother would make it, but she luckily did. Besides Kevin, Tatum’s other adult children are Emily, 32, and Sean, 35. They, too, worried she might never speak or walk again.
The Oscar Award-winning star had spent the past three years in different rehabilitation (rehab) facilities trying to regain her memory, strength, and reading and writing abilities. The actress had struggled with addiction problems for decades and admitted:
“I’ve been through a lot.”
Ryan O’Neal and his daughter Tatum on the 22nd-floor terrace of Hotel Pierre, New York City, on May 11, 1973 | Source: Getty Images
Ryan’s daughter started using and abusing prescription medication early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the medicine was opioids prescribed for her rheumatoid arthritis, neck, and back pain.
In May 2020, she overdosed on morphine, opiates, and pain medication, but a friend luckily found her in her Century City apartment, and she was rushed to a hospital. At the time, Tatum had become isolated while suffering from chronic pain and COVID-19.
Kevin believed his mother felt no hope for herself, and during her hospitalization, she was diagnosed with aphasia. The disorder came about through the brain’s language center being damaged, and it was discovered that Tatum’s right frontal cortex was affected.
Her hospital stay was riddled with scares, like when they thought she’d gone deaf, blind, and mute. The actress failed to communicate when she got out of the coma and didn’t know where she was. To add insult to injury, coronavirus restrictions stopped her family from seeing her in the hospital.
Kevin and his siblings communicated with their mother through video and phone calls, but Emily also visited her by standing behind a glass partition. The actress attended regular therapy for the next two years after being placed under medical supervision and fought to regain her memory.
While the “Paper Moon” star still couldn’t recall some things, her vocabulary improved. Her oldest child revealed that the things that had led his mother to take the medication were still there, but she was now taking part in twelve-step meetings and working with a physician. Tatum said:
“I’ve been trying to get sober my whole life. Every day, I am trying.”
