Sarah Silverman's Near-Death Medical Emergency Was So Much Worse Than We Knew

Sarah Silverman shocked fans last summer when the comedian confirmed she almost died from a "freak case of epiglottitis." Now, close to a full year after her July 2016 health emergency, Silverman is using her brand new Netflix special A Speck of Dust to open up about the illness that almost took her life. While the Comedy Central alum's near brush with death already sounded awful in her emotional 10-month-old Facebook statement, her stand-up show proves her hospitalization was literally the stuff of nightmares.

Silverman explains that, after a road trip spent performing, she had a nagging sore throat. Although she usually wouldn’t go to the doctor over such a minor symptom, the former Sarah Silverman Program star randomly decided to get checked out after she got home. At the doctor’s office, Silverman was forced to wait for quite a while, but still stayed to hear what her diagnosis was. When the doctor finally examined her, he announced they needed to go to the emergency room immediately. The veteran comedian had an “abscess” at the top of her windpipe, which could result in two deadly possibilities. Either it would grow another millimeter and end her ability to breathe, or the abscess would “explode” and leak poison into her body.

Doctors recommend Silverman going into surgery, but warned her loved ones it was so dangerous she could die during the procedure. On top of that, the Bob’s Burgers actress was forced to stay awake for the entire “risky” surgery, since her blood pressure is so low it was hazardous to put her to sleep. Then, after the procedure, a breathing tube was stuck down Silverman’s throat to keep her alive. To make sure she didn’t pull the tube out, the comedian’s hands were tied down. So literally every time the actress — who had no short term memory — woke up, she had no idea why she was in such a terrifying state. “I just thought what anyone would think in that situation, which was that I’ve been captured by ISIS. And it was so scary,” she says, possibly joking, probably telling the truth.

Despite all of these nightmarish experiences, Silverman promises there were some moments filled with her signature blue humor. The Wreck-It Ralph star brings up the story she previously mentioned in her Facebook statement, when she seemingly wrote an urgent message to her nurse. The letter ended up reading "Do you live with your mother?" with "a picture of a dick" next to it. A new story reveals Silverman’s medicine made her extremely itchy and was finally allowed to untie one hand to fix with the problem. When she finally got to deal with one "vagina adjacent" itch, she wafted her scratching hand towards her friend John, who was standing in a corner.

The Speck Of Dust credits give us more never-before-known details with hospital videos. During the special, Silverman mentions she explained the politics behind Brexit to prove her pre-surgery drugs weren’t that intense. In the Dust-ending clips, we actually see her medically drugged up argument, which includes more pertinent acronyms than most people would probably be able to supply while stone cold sober. She also brings up up future strippers, because this is Sarah Silverman we’re talking about.

Although the special has the very pessimistic title of A Speck Of Dust, the videos prove Silverman is secretly an optimist. “I have hope. I believe in people,” she rambles amid all the drugs. See, guys, at least it wasn't all a nightmare.