Montel Williams feels "blessed to be alive"

Montel - who suffered a cerebellar hemorrhagic stroke, which either kills or causes severe neurologic deficits in 50 percent of patients - told People: "I'm very lucky. When it happened, I didn't realise the veracity of what this was. When you start thinking about it those statistics? That's harsh reality. ... I'm so blessed to be alive and I'm not taking it for granted."

Montel actually suffered the stroke during his regular exercise routine.

The Emmy-winning star can still vividly remember what he thought was a loud noise coming from behind him as he was working out.

He recalled: "I knew there was nobody there and so I looked to my left. And as my eyes came back around, the whole room started to kaleidoscope and I got hit with the wave of tired.

"I threw the weight down and said to myself, 'You just had a stroke.'"

The sound Montel actually heard was caused by a burst blood vessel and he immediately knew he needed to act fast in order to save his own life.

He shared: "I said, 'I'm not dying in this gym alone.'

"I wanted to lay down to rest but I kept saying, 'You can't lay down' because I remembered that's what people die from."

Montel managed to alert his wife Tara and he urged her to call for an ambulance immediately.

He told her: "Call the ambulance and tell them I just had a stroke. Tell them your husband had a stroke."