Chevy Chase’s daughter has shared that her father essentially came “back from the dead” after spending eight days in a coma in 2021.
In the new documentary I’m Chevy Chase, and You’re Not, the actor and comedian’s daughter, Caley, spoke about his near-fatal health scare during the COVID-19 pandemic. “[He] has basically come back from the dead. He had heart failure,” she said, according to Variety.
Elsewhere in the film, Chevy’s wife, Jayni, detailed the frightening trip to the hospital where doctors uncovered what was wrong. “Something was wrong, and he couldn’t explain to me what was wrong,” Jayni recalled. “So, we got to the ER. His heart stops.”
“During those years he was drinking, he got cardiomyopathy — when the heart muscles get weaker, and they can’t pump as much blood out with each beat,” Jayni explained.
Doctors ultimately decided to place him in a coma for eight days, and Caley recalled the sobering warning she received beforehand.
“‘We might not get him back. We don’t know how present he’ll be. Prepare yourselves for the worst,’” she remembered. “He woke up, all he could do was use his voice.”
Those fears quickly faded when Chevy showed signs he was still very much himself, cracking a joke as a nurse adjusted some medical equipment in his room.
“She said, ‘I’m going to have to put this in here,’” Caley recalled. “And he said, ‘That’s what she said.’”
Chase ultimately spent five weeks hospitalized as he recovered from his health issues.
I’m Chevy Chase, and You’re Not is set to premiere on New Year’s Day (January 1) on CNN. The documentary dives into Chase’s legendary career, fame, and complicated personality, with appearances from family members and collaborators including Goldie Hawn and Ryan Reynolds.
