If you're an avid fan of The View, you surely noticed that Whoopi Goldberg was recently absent from the show. The co-host rarely misses an episode—unless, of course, she's seriously ill. When Goldberg returned to The View on June 29, she explained why she'd been missing from the panel for the past week. She told audiences that she was out for a specific health reason that caused her to spend some time in the hospital, and to return with a walker. Read on to learn more about Goldberg's medical condition.
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Whoopi Goldberg was absent from The View due to sciatica.
ABC"Yes, it's me, I'm back," Goldberg said upon her return to The View. "I was out because I was dealing with something called sciatica, which is basically a bulging disc in your back, and it impacts the sciatic nerve, which sends pain down your leg." The co-host went on to compare sciatica to "a bad boyfriend who came back to mess with me." She said at one point she had tried to move her leg, but it was "impossible." Overall, the experience was "really horrible," Goldberg said, but she's glad to be back on the show.
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Her sciatica caused her to need a walker.
ABCAt one point, Goldberg held up a walker and explained that her sciatica caused her to need assistance when walking. "I have a walker, which kind of freaked me out," she admitted. "I didn't know that I needed it. And you know what? My first step with the walker, this is my new best friend. I'm just gliding along."
Experts told her that sciatica can come "out of nowhere," Goldberg added. Thankfully, she is now on the mend. During the interview, Joy Behar told her co-host that she looked well-rested, which Goldberg said was a result of her time "laying in a hospital room."
In 2019, Goldberg was absent from The View for over a month when she had pneumonia.
ABC/YouTubeGoldberg has missed a large chunk of The View only a couple other times due to health issues since her debut on the series in 2007. Back in 2019, she missed over a month of filming as she battled pneumonia. In a video to viewers at the time, Goldberg explained, " I had pneumonia, and I was septic." She said she had "pneumonia in both lungs, which meant there was fluid and all kinds of stuff going on, and yes, I came very, very close to leaving the earth. Good news? I didn't."
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Pain, numbness, weakness, and tingling are some of the signs of sciatica to look out for.
fizkes / ShutterstockThe Cleveland Clinic says people describe pain from sciatica in a variety of ways, such as burning, electric, stabbing, and sharp, shooting pain. The discomfort can come and go in jolts or remain present, and the pain tends to be more severe in your leg than in your lower back. Aside from the pain that comes with sciatica, the condition has other signs as well. Many of these symptoms are localized in your lower back, legs, feet, and butt, and manifest in numbness, weakness, and pins and needles. The Cleveland Clinic notes that loss of bowel and bladder control can also be a symptom of sciatica.
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