Tracy Morgan Talks Current Health Status: 'I Have Good Days and Bad Days'
Tracy Morgan revealed that he still isn't 100 percent one year after a car accident left him in critical condition. So what obstacles is he still overcoming?
"I have my good days and my bad days," the comedian, who suffered brain trauma and multiple broken bones, explained in a second interview with Matt Lauer for NBC News. "Sometimes I don't feel well. Sometimes emotionally I don't feel well. I'm really focused on my memory coming back to me, my walking getting better. My balance is still off so I have to really focus on those things."
Morgan told Lauer he also suffers from depression related to the incident, especially because his friend and mentor, James "Jimmy Mack" McNair, perished in the crash.
The 30 Rock alum, who remembers nothing from the night of the accident, elaborated more about his health to People magazine, describing himself at "75 percent" after relearning how to sit, walk, and stand. He's still recovering from the brain trauma, he said.
"Sometimes I feel a little off, I might forget things," revealed Morgan, whose days are spent in speech and physical therapy as well as with a psychologist. "My doctors tell me, my family tells me, 'You are getting better,' so that is the ray of hope and my inspiration."
Morgan's guiding light has been his fiancée, Megan Wollover, whom he was FaceTiming with when the six-vehicle car crash occurred in June 2014. (She appears with him during the interview with Lauer.) He also credited his children — his nearly 2-year-old daughter with Wollover, Maven, and his grown sons from his first marriage.
"I want to walk my wife down the aisle," Morgan, who still uses a cane, told People. "I am determined to play with my little daughter and chase her around… I have a lot to look forward to: I look forward to [her] first day of school. I look forward to being married. I look forward to my son going to college this September… All of those things [are] what keeps me going."
Morgan's fans have kept him going as well. His interview with Lauer took place on the Saturday Night Live set , where he shared that the words of encouragement from his longtime supporters have made all the difference.
"I love comedy," Morgan told Lauer. "I wonder how I'm going to be funny again, how I'm going to get to it, remembering my identity, what do I do? The fans let me know: 'We can't wait for you to come back.' I can't wait to make them laugh again. I want to say thank you to the people for saving my life. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you from my family."
When Lauer suggested that he take the stage at SNL when he feels ready to return to comedy, Morgan shed even more tears. "I promise you, that's what I'm gonna do. One day, when I'm 100 percent, I'm gonna grab that mic and I'm never gonna let it go. Never. I'm gonna be the funniest I can be cause I ain't never gonna take life for granted no more."
