The Emmy Award-winning actress underwent the surgery in November after being diagnosed with acute cardiac illness during a routine physical exam. She then spent two weeks in the ICU after doctors successfully removed a blood clot in her brain. Her recovery has been slow but steady, with her speech and movement on the right side of her body affected. She is currently undergoing physical therapy and is expected to be released from the hospital by the end of the month.

McClanahan was most recently seen on Broadway as Madame Morrible in Wicked. Among her other stage credits: The Women, California Suite, and Sticks and Bones. The actress appeared on numerous television shows, ranging from All in the Family and Maude to Murder She Wrote and Touched by an Angel, but she is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls.