Shields says that when she left the house for her show, those around her were concerned about her health. Though she insisted she was fine as she walked down the street, she became confused, wondering what she was doing there. Then she walked into a nearby restaurant, and “everything starts to go black.” “My hands drop to my side, and I go headfirst into the wall.”
A grand mal seizure is severe. Shields explains, “It means frothing at the mouth, totally blue, trying to swallow my tongue. The next thing I remember, I’m being loaded into an ambulance. I have oxygen on.” Things could be worse, though, when she came to, “Bradley fucking Cooper is sitting next to me holding my hand.”
Still in a daze, Shields thought, “This is what death must be like. You wake up, and Bradley Cooper’s going, ‘I’m going to go to the hospital with you, Brooke,’ and he’s holding my hand. And I’m looking at my hand, I’m looking at Bradley Cooper’s hand in my hand, and I’m like, ‘This is odd and surreal.’”
Apparently, Cooper acted as a first responder when Shields collapsed. In her telling, Cooper’s assistant called him and said, “Brooke’s on the ground. [Shields’ husband, Chris Henchy ] isn’t around. Go get her.” The Maestro arrived, somebody called the ambulance, and Shields “walked in with Jesus.”
