Sharon Stone claims that during one of the deepest periods of her life, only her father was there for her.
In 2001, the actress was given a 1% chance of survival after a ruptured vertebral artery bled for nine days into her cranium.
“My father was there for me, but that was pretty much it,” she tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue, reflecting on that time period. “I understand that if you want to live with decent people, you should avoid Hollywood.”
Prior to her health incident, Stone, 65, was professionally and personally flourishing. She had been nominated for her first Oscar for Casino five years prior. And months earlier, she and her husband, newspaper editor Phil Bronstein, had adopted their son Roan, who is now 23 years old. (She has since adopted two more children: sons Laird, 18, and Quinn, 17.)
However, as a result of the incident, her marriage fell apart (she and Bronstein divorced in 2004), and she claims that Hollywood ceased contacting her.
“I’ve lost everything,” she proclaims. “I lost every penny. I no longer have custody of my infant. I lost my profession. I lost everything you consider to be your true identity and your existence.”
“I never really got most of it back,” she continues, “but I’ve reached a point where I’m okay with it, where I really do recognize that I’m enough.”
Lawton, whom Stone attributes with saving her life, describes her as an inspiration for those who suffer from neurological disorders.
She also spends her time painting and playing pickleball, two hobbies she never imagined she would enjoy. Pickleball is “just so much fun,” according to Stone, whereas painting “helped me find my pure center.”
