'The View' co-host Joy Behar recalls life-changing medical emergency that made her think she was 'dying'
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Joy Behar recalled the moment in her life when she felt closest to dying during a conversation with executive producer Brian Teta on the January 31 episode of 'The View: Behind the Table' podcast.
The 81-year-old TV icon was asked by Teta to reflect on a pivotal moment that changed her life.
What was Joy Behar's medical crisis?
Behar was quick with her response to the producer's question, as spoke of how terrified she was while being rushed to the emergency room after suffering from an ectopic pregnancy.
According to Mayo Clinic, an ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the main cavity of the uterus. "The fertilized egg can't survive, and the growing tissue may cause life-threatening bleeding if left untreated," the website reads.
"I thought I was gonna be dead," said Behar. "The friggin doctor was out playing golf. I'm pleading internally, screaming, 'Help me, I'm dying!' I was. Literally, I thought I was dying," she recalled.
"They wheeled me into the OR (Operating Room), the doctors not there yet. I said, 'Give me something!' I was in such pain. So that's the end of that. They save me, I live. I'm minus a fallopian tube. It's okay, I can live without it," she continued.
Joy Behar's fresh take on life
The tough ordeal provided Behar with a new outlook on life and led to some significant changes.
She shared on the podcast, "And then the time would go by, and I'm thinking, 'Is that all there is to the circus? Is that all there is?' I'm 40 years old - 39 or 40 - and this is it, and I haven't done what I wanted to do yet."
"So I managed to do every single thing I wanted to do after that. Including getting a divorce," she joked.
The incident took place back in 1983, which had been a tough year overall for Behar. In addition to the medical crisis and her following split with her former husband Joseph Behar, she was also fired from her job as a receptionist at the ABC show, 'Good Morning America.'
