Hi, a quick note before we start.

If you have young listeners with you,

please be advised that this podcast contains strong language.

Also, it's serialized, so if you're just joining in here,

you should go back and start at episode one of season three.

Okay, let's start the show.

I'm sitting in a bed, and the doctors come in to do their morning rounds and like the head guy is like, how you feel?

And he comes in, like you know, stands at the foot of my bed and grabs my foot.

How you doing, champ?

And I'm nodding my head.

He's like, you feel okay?

And I nod at my head.

And then he says, yeah, you really scared us

last night. We lost you for five minutes. Jason Weems was recovering in a hospital in Philadelphia

after collapsing at a comedy show. He had an asthma attack that was so severe that his heart stopped for five whole minutes.

What are you talking about?

Who says five minutes?

Everybody that I know have died, they've died for six minutes.

This can't be true.

I'm Talia Bacassas, and this is First Day Back, a documentary podcast about trying to get your life back after an event that changes you.

Jason Weems is a comedian, but he's also a family man with three young kids.

He's not a big guy, but he carries himself like one.

...