In his first interview since the New Jersey Turnpike crash that nearly killed him, Tracy Morgan tearfully described his painful recovery, the heartbreaking loss of his friend, and the hospital staffers who helped him recover.
He heaped the most praise on one caregiver — his very own “Nurse Jackie.”
“Nurse Jackie, when I first came out of the coma, I was a mess. I would curse her out every day. I would throw things at her,” the “30 Rock” star told NBC’s “Today” show Monday, his eyes brimming. “The only thing she would say to me is, ‘Everything is going to be all right.’ ”
The nurse was Jackie Chirichella, of the JFK Medical Center in Edison, NJ.
“I would tell him, ‘It’s OK. It’ll be OK,’ ” she told The Post Monday from the medical center.
“I told him, ‘This is new to you, but it’s not new to me!’ ”
The 46-year-old comedian held a cane as he was interviewed on the “Today” show.
“I love comedy and I can’t wait to get back to it. But right now, my goal is just to heal and get better because I’m not 100 percent yet,” Morgan said. “And when I’m there, you’ll know it. I’ll get back to making you laugh, I promise you.”
The June 7, 2014, smashup killed Morgan’s friend, comedy writer, James McNair. Morgan suffered a serious head injury and broken bones and was left in a coma. He spent months recuperating and still suffers headaches and nosebleeds, but said the death of his pal was the hardest burden to bear.
“Bones heal, but the loss of my friend will never heal because we knew each other a long time,” Morgan said.
His limo bus was struck that fateful night by a Walmart truck.
“I am happy that Walmart stepped up to the plate in a tremendous way and they took full responsibility,” he said of settlements the retail giant reached with him and McNair’s family.
For four weeks, Nurse Jackie, 56, acted as not only Morgan’s caregiver but also his confidante.
“I focused on being very positive and just giving him help,” she said., adding that Morgan behaved as well as could any patient with a broken arm, femur, leg, nose and ribs.
“Patients say things that they don’t mean. That wasn’t Tracy Morgan talking,” Chirichella said. “You’re not truly a nurse until you get hit or thrown or kicked.
“It wasn’t easy for him. It was a tough program, but he did it and he was determined,” she said.
She even helped shield him from paparazzi, once raising an red umbrella during a trip outside.
“Of course, it called attention to everybody . . . and everyone was wondering who was under the red umbrella,” she recalled.
Additional reporting by David K. Li
