The world almost lost a beloved talent last night.
Kevin Smith, the accomplished director who may still be best known for playing the titular Silent Bob, had to cancel his second stand-up show because he suffered a massive heart attack.
He lived to tell the tale, and immediately took to social media to share his harrowing experience.
In the wee hours of Monday morning (really, what most of us would consider late Sunday night), Kevin Smith shared this hospital selfie across social media platforms.
In his tweet, he wrote:
“After the first show this evening, I had a massive heart attack. The Doctor who saved my life told me I had 100% blockage of my LAD artery (aka ‘the Widow-Maker’). If I hadn’t canceled show 2 to go to the hospital, I would’ve died tonight. But for now, I’m still above ground!”
Just hours before, he’d shared this (below) image of himself — he was so excited to shoot his comedy special.
Now, he knows that he’s extremely lucky to be alive.
Taking to Facebook, Kevin Smith elaborated on everything that had happened.
“I was trying to do a killer standup special this evening but I might’ve gone too far.”
He’s making bad puns — that’s a good sign.
“After the first show, I felt kinda nauseous. I threw up a little but it didn’t seem to help. Then I started sweating buckets and my chest felt heavy. Turns out I had a massive heart attack.”
Yeah, those are huge warning signs that something is off, folks.
“The Doctor who saved my life at the #glendale hospital told me I had 100% blockage of my LAD artery (also known as ‘the Widow-Maker’ because when it goes, you’re a goner).”
That sounds absolutely horrifying. Still, he seems focused on apologizing to his fans.
“If I hadn’t canceled the second show to go to the hospital, the Doc said I would’ve died tonight. For now, I’m still above ground! But this is what I learned about myself during this crisis: death was always the thing I was most terrified of in life.”
That’s relatable.
“When the time came, I never imagined I’d ever be able to die with dignity – I assumed I’d die screaming, like my Dad (who lost his life to a massive heart attack).”
He continues, reflecting on what flashed through his mind as he wrestled with the Grim Reaper.
“But even as they cut into my groin to slip a stent into the lethal Widow-Maker, I was filled with a sense of calm.”
Most imagine that they would feel the opposite of that.
“I’ve had a great life: loved by parents who raised me to become the individual I am. I’ve had a weird, wonderful career in all sorts of media, amazing friends, the best wife in the world and an incredible daughter who made me a Dad.”
His daughter of course is Harley Quinn Smith, named for the beloved and iconic DC character — both supervillain and anti-hero — originally conceived for Batman: The Animated Series in the 1990s.
“But as I stared into the infinite, I realized I was relatively content. Yes, I’d miss life as it moved on without me – and I was bummed we weren’t gonna get to make #jayandsilentbobreboot before I shuffled loose the mortal coil.”
You really have to love your job if your potentially-dying thoughts are about work.
“But generally speaking, I was okay with the end, if this was gonna be it. I’ve gotten to do so many cool things and I’ve had so many adventures – how could I be shitty about finally paying the tab. But the good folks at the Glendale hospital had other plans and the expertise to mend me.”
He continues with his takeaways.
“Total strangers saved my life tonight (as well as my friends @jordanmonsanto & @iamemilydawn, who called the ambulance).”
Important to give credit where credit is due.
“This is all a part of my mythology now and I’m sure I’ll be facing some lifestyle changes (maybe it’s time to go Vegan).”
His daughter is vegan, so we’re sure that she would be overjoyed. (Though not all vegan diets are healthier than non-vegan)
“But the point of this post is to tell you that I faced my greatest fear tonight… and it wasn’t as bad as I’ve always imagined it’d be. I don’t want my life to end but if it ends, I can’t complain. It was such a gift.“
That is some heavy stuff.
(Here he is in a 2017 photo with Gary Fisher, the beloved support animal of the late, great Carrie Fisher)
You can tell that Kevin Smith is either very dedicated to reassuring his fans or just not a meme enthusiast. Any Millennial or Gen Z sharing a selfie from a hospital bed would caption it: “I lived bitch.”
(My friend had cancer surgery last year and that’s how she announced that she was out of it)
But Kevin Smith’s post is beautiful and informative and astoundingly bittersweet.
He survived, but he’ll need to spend time recovering — in addition to the heart attack itself, he does mention that the doctors made a hole in him.
Let’s hope that he makes a speedy and full recovery and lives a long life.
It was a very close call.
