Nichelle Nichols Suffers Minor Stroke (UPDATED)
UPDATE 6-4-15:
New information on Nichelle Nichols’ stroke and recovery posted to her Facebook page.
Update #2 10:15am June 5, 2016
The MRI showed that Nichelle Nichols had a MINOR stroke. She will start therapy this morning to evaluate how much damage was done, and try to determine her chances for a full or partial recovery. The therapists will test her hand at writing and legs to see if she can stand and walk on her own. Last night Nichelle remained alert, and cheerful.
When we told her about the love and support coming in from around the world she smiled and asked to see the posts on her facebook.
Thank you again for all of your kind words. Keep them coming because Nichelle is reading them.
Feel free to post your pictures with Nichelle and a story about when you met her.
-Zach McGinnis
ORIGINAL STORY FOLLOWS
Representatives for Star Trek‘s Nichelle Nichols have confirmed that she’s suffered a minor stroke.
In a very brief statement on Facebook, Zach McGinnis confirmed the incident without going into any detail:
Last night while at her home in LA, Nichelle Nichols suffered from a mild stroke. She is currently undergoing testing to determine how severe the stroke was. Please keep her in your thoughts.
-Zach McGinnis
Galactic Productions, LLC
A second update was issued later in the day:
Update #1 6:25pm June 4, 2015
Nichelle Nichols has had both a CAT scan and an MRI today. The CAT scan came back negative and we are awaiting the results from the MRI. Currently she is awake, eating, in good spirits and able to have full conversations. Her right side has shown minor signs or mobility loss but she is not showing any signs of paralyses.
We greatly appreciate all of the love and support her fans are showing at this time.
-Zach McGinnis
Nichols, best known for her role as Uhura on the original Star Trek series and subsequent films, has also served as an ambassador and recruiter for NASA. During the 1970s she was very involved in efforts to attract women and minorities to the space program. Her portrayal as an officer among a multi-racial/multi-species crew has been cited as influential by both Whoopi Goldberg (who would later join the Trek family as Guinan) and astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison (who got her own walk-on part in Star Trek: The Next Generation).
We will update as the story develops.
