Keala Settle

A week prior to singing at the Oscars 2018, Settle had lost half of her body's motor functions due to a mini-stroke - one that would lead doctors to diagnose her with a rare cerebrovascular disorder known as Moyamoya disease. Trouble first started for Settle in the weeks leading up to the Oscars. She had been on a non-stop worldwide promotional tour for El gran showman (2017) and its chart-topping soundtrack, a process that left her immune system compromised and her patience, understandably thin. Stepping into a rehearsal space in Burbank, California, on February 24th, Settle's stress levels were high - so much so that she ended up having a nervous breakdown on set. Collapsing into tears, she suddenly felt a shooting pain in her skull and noticed the right side of her body go completely numb. Settle had suffered from a transient ischemic attack (TIA), a "mini-stroke" that produces similar symptoms of a larger stroke, often as a warning of impending trouble. Her facilities were back within 20 minutes of the TIA's dissipation, but a series of brain scans over the next few days in the hospital showed that her problem was much worse. Half of Settle's brain was actually blocked from blood flow and oxygen for years due to collated carotid arteries (the major blood vessels in the neck that supply blood to the brain, neck, and face). To compensate, her brain had created tiny blood vessels at the base to supply it with blood (their shape earning the name "Moyamoya disease," Japanese for "puff of smoke"). Those weak vessels were now completely dried out. Subsequently, they snapped. She was put on anti-seizure medications, children's aspirin, and encouraged to stay hydrated to maintain blood flow. Four days later, Settle was in front of millions of viewers - singing what she calls, "the song that almost killed me." 10-hour bypass brain surgery to correct the problem finally came on April 27, after a 5-week pre-op process. The operation provided alternative blood flow to the right side of her brain for the first time ever. Moyamoya disease is not curable. Though surgery has provided Settle with significant stroke-risk reduction, she will be on medication for the rest of her life.

About the 'This Is Me' dance number in The Greatest Showman: We actually had all of Janet [Jackson]'s dancers, all of Pink's dancers, all of Beyoncé's dancers and all of Gaga's dancers backing me up in 'This Is Me.' So when we did that first rehearsal, I cried [to them], 'You are making my dreams come true right now.'