Here’s how few people tend to survive the medical crisis that Jamie Foxx did

Actor and comedian Jamie Foxx was the subject of several conspiracy theories and rumors in April 2023 when news broke that he was hospitalized with what was reported then as a “medical complication.”

Without any official information released, speculation about Foxx’s condition ran rampant. Rumors ranged from claims that he was “partially paralyzed and blind” as a result of the COVID-19 vaccine, to outlandish conspiracy theories suggesting the actor had died and had been replaced by a clone or that Diddy attempted to have him killed. In response, his daughter, Corinne, took to Instagram in May 2023 and wrote, “Sad to see how the media runs wild. My dad has been out of the hospital for weeks and recuperating.”

Foxx finally talked about what really happened during his hospitalization in the Netflix special Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was, where shared the details of his medical emergency. The actor recalled experiencing an excruciating headache and asking his son for aspirin. However, before his son could bring it to him, he blacked out and had no memory of the events for the next 20 days. Foxx was given a cortisone shot and was sent home after a trip to the hospital, but his sister insisted that something serious was going on and sought a second opinion. At Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, doctors diagnosed Foxx with a brain bleed that led to a stroke, and they said that without immediate surgery, his life was at risk.

Jamie Foxx’s medical emergency was rare

Thankfully, Foxx’s surgery went well but doctors warned that the road to recovery was not going to be easy. The actor said he woke up 20 days later, not knowing what happened to him. Now, he is seemingly doing well and is appreciative of his second chance at life. Foxx walked the red carpet at the recent Golden Globe Awards where he talked about one of the nurses who took care of him.

“This girl in Atlanta, one of my nurses, shout out to her, I wont’ say her name, but she says, ‘Jamie, you’re a 5-percenter.’ I said, ‘What does that mean?’ ‘Less than 5 percent of people that may have what you have walk out of here.’”

Foxx suffered what is called a hemorrhagic stroke, which is caused by bleeding into the brain tissue, and it’s rarer than ischemic stroke, which is the result of the lack of blood supply to the brain. According to Healthline, about 13 percent of strokes are hemorrhagic in comparison to ischemic strokes. It is a serious emergency and if left without immediate medical attention, it may cause permanent brain damage or even death. Some of its symptoms include headaches, light sensitivity, dizziness, slurred speech, and fainting.

A study conducted in 2020 reports that the survival rate of a hemorrhagic stroke is about 26 percent. While some patients never fully recover, it is estimated that 12 to 39 percent can get back to being independent after treatments. Foxx said that he was confined to a wheelchair after he had his surgery, and he underwent rehabilitation in Chicago to get better. He has made several projects since his health scare and is welcoming the new year with a Netflix movie alongside Cameron Diaz, Back in Action, which will premiere on Jan. 17.