A beloved CBS sitcom star is sharing her experience with a brain aneurysm and stroke she suffered 20 years ago.
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Marla Gibbs, who played Florence Johnston on The Jeffersons, has released a new memoir, It’s Never Too Late, which gets candid about her health struggles.
“My work has been about making people happy, acting out stories in theaters and on soundstages,” the 94-year-old writes in the new book, per PEOPLE.
In 2006, Gibbs, who also played Mary Jenkins on 227, faced the greatest challenge of her life: a brain aneurysm followed by a stroke that nearly killed her. In her memoir, she reflects on her long journey to healing.
“Most people do not survive brain aneurysms, so I knew God still had plans for me,” she penned. “The more my strength and memory came back, the more trouble I got into. As I said before, I’m Gemini and my mind is always curious and always working … not always for the better.”
Gibbs wrote, “I did not want to use the diapers while in rehab. I wanted to go to the bathroom on my own.” Despite the bathroom being nearby, she added, “Every time they would leave the room, I would sneak out of the bed and end up on the floor.”
The sitcom legend continued, writing that her family “finally had to ask them to tie me to the bed.” However, she was determined to regain her independence. “I watched carefully as the nurses tied me up, so I could untie myself as soon as they left,” she recalled. “And you guessed it … I’d be on the floor again.” The experience tested her resolve, and upon returning home, she began to doubt her future. “When I got home and looked at the old woman staring back at me in the mirror I said, ‘Maybe it is over.’ Maybe my days as an actress are gone.”
Marla Gibbs Opens up About Her “Deep Depression” Following Her Brain Aneurysm and Stroke
Gibbs wrote that recovery was “hard and it took every ounce of physical, mental, and spiritual strength I could muster.” She questioned why the health scare happened, “especially when I still had so many plans for my life.” Gibbs explained, “I was getting ready to tour with my new jazz CD, but as they say, man makes plans, and God laughs.” However, she added, “This wasn’t funny, though. I sank into a deep depression. I felt like maybe it was time for me to go.”
Gibbs explained that she went to outpatient rehab for “occupational, physical, and speech therapy,” but faced a setback when she tried to demonstrate her progress to a friend. “I wanted to show her I could jog, and I fell and hit my head,” she recalled. Gibbs described the experience as “embarrassing but mostly…disheartening.” After complaining to the rehab center, a nurse told her, “We didn’t tell you to jog at home!”
This moment led to a crucial realization.
“I finally accepted where I was at in my recovery,” she wrote. Gibbs, who had “always been an independent woman who juggled multiple projects,” now found herself “totally dependent and could do nothing.” She concluded that “acceptance of where I was in my recovery was essential to me healing, and I think acceptance is key to healing in life.”
Of course, the beloved sitcom actor went on to have many more roles after her brain aneurysm and stroke. Per IMDb, Gibbs has appeared on Grey’s Anatomy, Will Trent, Chicago Med and the Breaking Bad spinoff film, El Camino.
It’s Never Too Late dropped on Tuesday.