Aaron Sorkin shares that he had a stroke last fall

According to Aaron Sorkin’s doctors, Aaron Sorkin should be dead right now. Thankfully, he keeps proving them wrong. In a new profile in the New York Times, the Oscar- and Emmy-winner revealed that he had a stroke last fall as he was prepping his latest Broadway gamble, a revival of Camelot. Of course, the always walking and talking, working and smoking Sorkin continued as usual. Then, two months before rehearsal began, he called his doctor, who told him to stop futzing with Camelot and get to a doctor. His blood pressure was so high doctors told him, “You’re supposed to be dead.”

Sorkin’s symptoms began shortly before but lingered long afterward. At first, the writer noted that he was bumping into corners and walls and spilling drinks. Symptoms persisted for the next month. He couldn’t fly, which was especially difficult for the bicoastal Sorkin, and he had trouble signing his name and typing, an occupational nightmare for the prolific writer. The Times notes that while he still can’t taste food, the other issues are “now behind him.”