Sarah Silverman 'lucky to be alive' after severe throat infection

LOS ANGELES, July 7 (UPI) -- Comedienne and actress Sarah Silverman told followers on Facebook she's "insanely lucky to be alive" after spending a week in the intensive care unit for a severe throat infection.

Silverman, 45, went to the doctor for a sore throat last week and was diagnosed with epiglottitis, which occurs when a small, swollen piece of cartilage blocks the windpipe and can cause respiratory failure, according to the Mayo Clinic.

She thanked her close friends and family and the medical staff for their support while she was treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

"I was in the ICU all of last week and I am insanely lucky to be alive," her post began. "Don't even know why I went to the doctor, it was just a sore throat. But I had a freak case of epiglottitis."

"They couldn't put me fully to sleep for the recovery process because my blood pressure's too low," she continued. "I was drugged just enough to not feel the pain and have no idea what was happening or where I was. They had to have my hands restrained to keep me from pulling out my breathing tube. My friend Stephanie said I kept writing 'was I in an accident?' "

Silverman said she was sedated for five days, but when she woke the sense of humor automatically kicked in.

"I still couldn't talk and they gave me a board of letters to communicate," she wrote. "My loved ones stood there, so curious what was going to be the first thing I had to say. They followed my finger, rapt, as I pointed from letter to letter until I finally spelled out, 'Did you see Hello My Name is Doris.' "