Andy Dick was discovered to have “five to seven holes” in his brain after suffering a serious, near-fatal drug overdose in December.
The troubled comedian, 60, spoke about the horrific incident and its aftermath on Tuesday’s Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast.
“It was dead. Dead?” Mandel, 70, asked Dick. “Did your heart stop? Is it like legally, clinically dead?”
Mr Dick admitted that his heart had stopped and he was “not breathing” after the overdose, but he also clarified that he did not remember the event until he “awoke in the ambulance”.
“There was no bright light. (If there was) I would love to come back,” the “NewsRadio” alum joked.
However, Dick also revealed that a brain scan shortly after he was resuscitated revealed that he had a hole in his brain due to years of drug and alcohol abuse.
“They did a CAT scan or whatever they call it in the brain. I have all these things. I have five to seven holes,” he told Mandel.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, these holes, known as lesions, can occur for a variety of reasons, including traumatic brain injury, chronic stress, and more.
However, Dick’s rep clarified to Page Six that the hole in the comedian’s brain is the result of a past incident that caused Dick to suffer for seven years.
“His brain problems are the result of an attack in 2019, when an unprovoked attacker made fun of Andy while he was outside a club where he had just performed with Paris Dylan, nearly killing him,” the comedian’s rep said in a statement.
“We are confident that his brain will heal,” he added.
The attorney also confirmed that Dick had “battled addiction for years” but was “healthy, sober and doing well” after the incident last December.
Dick’s friends Adam Carbone and Alexander Bailey were filming the Road Trip star in Hollywood on December 9 when Dick snorted crack cocaine with a random man on the street and ran away.
Video obtained by TMZ shows Dick collapse on the building’s cement steps, while bystanders call an ambulance and try to help the “Employee of the Month” actor regain consciousness.
He eventually regained consciousness after receiving four doses of Narcan, a life-saving drug that quickly reverses an opioid overdose.
The former “Andy Dick Show” star, who has a long history of drug and alcohol abuse, entered a rehabilitation center in Palm Springs days after the incident and left the facility less than two months later.
Dick previously reflected on his near-fatal overdose and subsequent rehabilitation period in an exclusive chat with Page Six in January.
“This isn’t funny, and I don’t remember it, but I came back to life, got up, and the first thing out of my mouth was, ‘Where’s the vodka?'” Dick said.
He further added, “I don’t remember. I was still mad…I had just come back from death and Narkand. I was losing my mind.”
Dick said his recent stay in rehab felt “different” than “many” of his previous trips.
“I think this is different, mainly because I can’t believe I actually died and came back to life,” he said.
Dick was last seen being wheeled around in a wheelchair in Los Angeles.
If you or a loved one is affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call SAMHSA’s national helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
