"A medical mystery" - John McEnroe's son Kevin opens up about his mom Tatum O'Neal's miraculous recovery after a stroke

John McEnroe's son, Kevin McEnroe, penned an article recalling how he and his family went through Thanksgivings in hospitals for cancer treatments. In his Substack column, he also recounted a close call from May 2020 when her mother, Tatum O'Neal, suffered a severe stroke, which led to a cardiac arrest and several seizures, due to an overdose.

O'Neal was in a coma for six weeks, and when she woke up, she lost her communication skills as Doctors diagnosed her with aphasia. The medical consultant also shared a grim future with their children that she might not be able to speak again. Despite that, O'Neal has made significant progress over the years, which led Kevin to describe it as nothing short of a "miracle."

"Tatum had a stroke, and at one point she couldn’t talk, and they told me she never would again, so the fact that she can is a miracle," Kevin wrote.

"The fact that she can text is a medical mystery, and the fact that she cannot remember the word turkey but is able to heart react to iMessages is beyond my comprehension, but honestly so is most of my life, and I like it better that way."

O'Neal has reportedly regained the ability to speak, though her memory and vocabulary are not fully back.

John McEnroe's ex-wife, Tatum O'Neal, opens up about her near-death experience

Tatum O'Neal herself has talked about her stroke and subsequent coma, which was induced because of an overdose on prescription medication. She received a prescription to treat chronic pain and rheumatoid arthritis.

Talking about her miraculous comeback from the jaws of death, she said (via People):

“I was in a coma and nobody could figure out if I was going to die or if I was going to live. And I lived.”

Tatum O'Neal's daughter, Emily, has also talked about this miraculous recovery, calling her mother an "unbelievable survivor."

“Three and a half years ago, the doctors had no anticipation that she would be able to speak, to see, to walk,” Emily said. “She’s an unbelievable survivor.”

Tatum O'Neal's current recovery involves intensive rehabilitation, therapy, and ongoing sobriety work, which requires her to attend meetings, rehab and therapy.

“Seeing her drive for sobriety right now, we’re all on this journey together,” Emily added. “Not going too far ahead and not going too far back. It’s just about trying. There’s no finish line but we can share in the pain and the joy and the frustration and the love, and all the in between. Living is in her favor.”

Currently, O'Neal is working on her communication skills and jogging up her memory back.