Marlene Favela Escapes a Near-Death Experience

By Wendy Barba

• Mexican actress Marlene Favela says she knew something was wrong when she felt a strange sensation in her hands. "I felt like I had ants all over me and I thought, 'This isn't right,'" the actress told People en Español.

  The night before, she had seafood for dinner and thought she was feeling the symptoms of food poisoning.

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  But those symptoms were then followed by nausea, dizziness and even difficulty speaking. She said she knew she had to immediately go to the hospital. Once in the emergency room, doctors informed the telenovela star that her symptoms had nothing to do with food poisoning -- she had a brain hemorrhage.

  Doctors told her she needed to undergo an operation for intracranial bleeding. The surgery would prevent the actress from going blind or possibly dying.

  When she received the news, Marlene says she felt like everything was in slow motion but decided surgery was the only option. "I showered for about an hour. I got dressed and brushed my hair and I told myself: 'Let's move forward,'" she said.

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  While in the recovery room, Marlene continued to reflect and tried to understand everything she had been through -- she felt like she was in shock. "I didn't realize if it was reality or a dream," she said. "I never imagined this would happen to me. I always thought I would die old with my family."

  She has returned to her apartment in Florida and is still recovering, but she says she will continue to live the same life she did before.

  Marlene is best known for her role in "Rubí" as Sonia Chavarria González and has starred in over 14 telenovelas.