Sandra Lee, the dermatologist-star of Lifetime’s Dr. Pimple Popper: Breaking Out, reveals she had an on-set stroke during the Season 2 filming last November.
The incident precipitated a two-month pause in production for the season that begins airing on April 20, according to an exclusive People magazine report.
In the People interview, Lee says, “I had what I thought was a hot flash. I got super sweaty and didn’t feel like myself.” She says that, later, after shooting, the symptoms progressed.
“I just felt very restless,” she says. “In one leg I kept feeling shooting pains,” adding, “I would hold my hand out, and it would just slowly collapse. I noticed that I had a tough time articulating and just enunciating. I thought, ‘Am I having a stroke?’”
An MRI confirmed that Lee had suffered an ischemic stroke. “As a physician I couldn’t deny that I had slurred speech, that I was having weakness on one side, but I was like, ‘Well, this is a dream, right?’ What essentially happened is I had a part of my brain that died.”
While she improved with physical and occupational therapy over the next months, Lee says she suffered from PTSD following the incident. In the People article, she encourages others to watch their blood pressure, cholesterol and stress levels.
“My blood pressure and my cholesterol were not under control,” Lee says, “and I have a lot of stress in my life, dealing with my patients and the show. I want to think about [the stroke] as a blessing in disguise. Because it reminds you to take better care of yourself.”
Here’s a trailer for the new season: