Kevin Smith shares selfie, says he suffered "massive heart attack"
By
Andrea Park
/ CBS News
Director Kevin Smith revealed on social media on Sunday that he suffered a "massive heart attack." The "Clerks" filmmaker shared a goofy selfie and assured fans that for now, he is "still above ground," but Smith also said that had he not canceled his second show on Sunday, he would have died.
Smith wrote that he was trying to do a standup special and felt nauseous after his first show.
"I threw up a little but it didn't seem to help," he wrote. "Then I started sweating buckets and my chest felt heavy. Turns out I had a massive heart attack." Smith said he headed to Glendale Hospital, where a doctor told him that he had "100 percent blockage" of his left anterior descending (LAD) artery, and that he would have died if he had stayed on stage to perform. Smith said of the LAD artery: "When it goes, you're a goner." The director also revealed that his father died from a massive heart attack.
Smith said that the scary incident has left him reflective, and made him realize that he has finally faced his biggest fear and overcome it.
"I've had a great life: loved by parents who raised me to become the individual I am," he said. "I've had a weird, wonderful career in all sorts of media, amazing friends, the best wife in the world and an incredible daughter who made me a Dad. But as I stared into the infinite, I realized I was relatively content."
Smith admitted that he would be "bummed" to die before getting to a "Jay and Silent Bob" reboot, but he was "okay with the end, if this was gonna be it." Thankfully for Smith, it was not.
"Total strangers saved my life tonight (as well as my friends @jordanmonsanto & @iamemilydawn, who called the ambulance)," he wrote. Smith added that now, maybe he'll even go vegan. He also said, "The point of this post is to tell you that I faced my greatest fear tonight... and it wasn't as bad as I've always imagined it'd be. I don't want my life to end but if it ends, I can't complain. It was such a gift."
