*At 94, Marla Gibbs is sharing the full story of how she cheated death twice.
“The Jeffersons” star opens up about surviving a brain aneurysm in 2006 and the near-fatal stroke that followed in her new memoir, “It’s Never Too Late: A Memoir,” released February 24. As PEOPLE reports, Gibbs wrote that pulling through the aneurysm deepened her sense of purpose, stating, “Most people do not survive brain aneurysms, so I knew God still had plans for me.”
However, the road to recovery proved far more challenging than she anticipated. Her condition sent her into a deep depression, and she confessed, “I felt like maybe it was time for me to go. I didn’t want to get up. I didn’t want to do anything.”
During her time in rehabilitation, Gibbs proved to be a handful for medical staff, repeatedly attempting to reach the bathroom on her own and falling in the process. Medical staff complied with her family’s request to restrain her, but Gibbs paid close attention to how the restraints were applied and freed herself every time they stepped out of the room.
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“I watched carefully as the nurses tied me up, so I could untie myself as soon as they left. And you guessed it … I’d be on the floor again,” she wrote.
With the support of physical, occupational, and speech therapy, Gibbs gradually regained her strength and mobility. She described the journey as taking “every ounce of physical, mental and spiritual strength” she could find.
“I started questioning why it happened, especially when I still had so many plans for my life. I was getting ready to tour with my new jazz CD, but as they say, man makes plans and God laughs,” Gibbs wrote, “This wasn’t funny though.”
Ultimately, it was a shift in perspective that proved most transformative. “Acceptance of where I was in my recovery was essential to me healing, and I think acceptance is key to healing in life,” she wrote.
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