Aubrey Plaza revealed on “The Howard Stern Show” that she experienced a terrifying medical scare years ago when she was briefly paralyzed and unable to speak after suffering a stroke while studying at New York University.
“I took the train to Astoria to have lunch with my friends and I walked into their apartment ― I hadn’t even taken my jacket off ― and it just happened,” she said on the radio show, adding “it was wild.”
She continued: “I was paralyzed, but only really for a minute or something. I lost my motor skills really briefly. The freakiest thing was I forgot how to talk.”
Plaza, a Delaware native, admitted to having a stroke in the past during a 2017 interview with NPR’s “Fresh Air.” Paramedics initially mistook her symptoms for dehydration or drug use due to her young age. She also linked the stroke to her prior use of a birth control pill, which she no longer takes.
She underwent cognitive therapy to regain her ability to speak and write. She said the experience continues to impact her approach to both her career and her private life.
“I always am aware of how precious life is, and I try to remember that every day,” she said. “I tend to see the bigger picture or try to see the bigger picture and try not to take things so seriously and try not to get hung up on the small things … I do have an overall feeling of life is short. And I might as well just do as much as I can. Maybe it’s why I’m so busy.”