‘Star Wars’ Actress Carrie Fisher Reported To Be In Stable Condition After Suffering Massive Heart Attack
Carrie Fisher’s brother, Todd Fisher, has told the Associated Press that his sister is now “out of emergency” after being stabilized at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Carrie’s brother said that he was unable to discuss the matter further, nor give any other details at this time.
The Star Wars actress, known far and wide for her portrayal of Princess Leia, had earlier been listed in critical condition on Friday. Carrie Fisher, 60, had been on an 11-hour flight from London to Los Angeles when she suffered a “cardiac episode,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
NBC News has stated that the Los Angeles Fire Department was contacted right before Carrie Fisher’s United Flight 935 touched down at 12:11 p.m., and once the plane landed, paramedics were waiting at the gate and performed “advanced life support” on Fisher. She was then rushed to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
Audio between air traffic control and airline staff reveal that Fisher was not responding well to efforts to revive her on the plane.
The Mirror reports that actress Anna Akana was on board and seated close to Carrie Fisher when she had a massive heart attack, and Akana tweeted that Fisher had stopped breathing and that CPR was administered by nurse and doctor passengers for “10 minutes or so” until the flight landed. Another source has reported that Carrie was in “a lot of distress on the flight.”
“Don’t know how else to process this but Carrie Fisher stopped breathing on the flight home. Hope she’s gonna be OK. So many thanks to the United flight crew who jumped into action, and the awesome doctor and nurse passengers who helped.”
A spokesperson for United Airlines made a public statement regarding Friday’s incident.
“Medical personnel met United flight 935 from London to Los Angeles upon arrival today after the crew reported that a passenger was unresponsive. Our thoughts are with our customer at this time and any requests for additional information should be directed to local authorities.”
Carrie Fisher has been traveling to promote her newest and eighth book, The Princess Diarist, and on her Twitter account she posted that she had been enjoying her recent visit to England and was posting many engaging photos of her trip. Her last tweet, on December 21, showed her posing outside of the Charles Dickens Lounge in Coquelles, France.
“???????????????????????????have????g????D so???©??Ucant even GET THEM 2 DO?????????????????©APTURE”-as ?????????these folksR disobedientAuditions R held.Gary didnt get©?????????? pic.twitter.com/RuEdx1AUIW
— Carrie Fisher (@carrieffisher) December 21, 2016
Numerous friends and fans have taken to social media to express their shock at at Friday’s events and to let Fisher know that they are thinking of her and praying for a speedy recovery.
Fellow Star Wars co-stars Mark Hamill and Peter Mayhew immediately tweeted their thoughts, with Hamill adding, “As if 2016 couldn’t get any worse. Sending all our love to @carrieffisher.” Mayhew, after posting an initial tweet, later added, “@carrieffisher is stable. So worried, glad to hear some positive news.”
Other stars who sent messages to Carrie Fisher included William Shatner, Eric Idle, Elijah Wood, Bette Midler, and George Takei.
Carrie Fisher is the daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, and has documented her life in her first book published in 1987, Postcards from the Edge, which was semi-autobiographical. The book was later turned into a film in 1990, which starred Shirley MacLaine and Meryl Streep.
Fisher was only 19-years-old when she was cast as Princess Leia. Vanity Fair reports that in her newest book she discusses her “intense” affair with Harrison Ford, which she says was a “three month one-night stand.” While Ford was gifted with a copy of the book before it was released, Carrie Fisher has mainly remained tight-lipped as to the details of their affair.
“He’s incredibly private; I feel really bad for doing that to him.”
Stay tuned for further details on Carrie Fisher’s condition as more become available.
[Featured Image by George Brich/AP Images]
