Comedian Heather McDonald had to be rushed to the hospital after she collapsed onstage during a comedy show and fractured her skull. McDonald, 51, collapsed after three minutes into the show at The Tempe Improv in Arizona, her representative said. Prior to her set, McDonald spent the morning with her son.
Audience initially felt that the action was part of her act, although it soon became clear that an actual medical emergency had occurred. Later, the comedian shared updates with her fans to Instagram following the scary incident, which was initially reported by TMZ. It is not known what exactly caused her to fain on stage.
Not a Joke
McDonald had just completed delivering her second joke of the night when she collapsed to the floor and needed medical help on Saturday night. She was on stage for about just three minutes when she suddenly collapsed, hitting her head.
McDonald's management said she was hospitalized with a skull fracture after losing consciousness from the fall.
Interestingly, second joke of the show, which she headlined, poked fun at the unvaccinated and made light of the ongoing pandemic but herself collapsed in the process. "I'm vaxxed, double vaxxed, boosted ... and flu shot, and shingle shot, and haven't gotten COVID and Jesus loves me most," she had just started.
After delivering the line, McDonald dropped to the floor and hit her head. However, but she remained aware after the initial impact.
The audience thought the behavior was part of her act, but it was eventually revealed that a true medical emergency had happened.
Fortunately, an EMT and a nurse were on hand throughout the performance and went onto the stage to provide first assistance.A potential seizure was mentioned in the 911 call about the incident, and an ambulance was dispatched to the Tempe Improv.
McDonald declined the ambulance and had her sister-in-law, who was also at the show, drive her to a nearby hospital. She told TMZ that she experienced a feeling of dizziness just prior to the collapse and that she had never felt that way during a show at any point in the past.
Recovering from Her Injuries
It is not known how serious the injury was but she is still in hospital. "So I'm in the emergency room. I look weird. I'm so so so so sorry," McDonald said in a video taken from the hospital bed and posted to her Instagram Stories.
"I passed out on stage. I got up, I did one joke and I felt so dizzy." McDonald then pointed to her eye, which appeared to be slightly bruised and swollen. "You can see my eye, I fell on my eye," she explained. "I cannot believe this happened. I feel so terrible that they had to tell everyone to leave and then cancel the second show."
McDonald's fainting seems to be unrelated to Covid. Her representative also stated that she received a booster dose three weeks ago and that she just tested negative for coronavirus.McDonald expressed that her head hurt and that she was feeling tired but was otherwise doing well.
She also stated that she was not happy about having to end her show in such an abrupt manner.
McDonald's health scare comes after her former colleague Chelsea Handler had to cancel multiple shows on her "Vaccinated & Horny Tour" comedy tour after suffering a health "scare" of her own.
