Boobay explains absent seizure after unresponsiveness during Boy Abunda interview

Boobay recalls absent seizure with Boy Abunda (left) last April. Image: Screengrab from YouTube/GMA Network

Boobay, who became unresponsive while in the middle of a “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda” interview eight months ago, explained the reason behind his unexpected health scare, saying it became a wake-up call for him to prioritize his health at all times.

Last April, Boobay, whose real name is Norman Balbuena, caused alarm while being interviewed by Abunda after he suddenly couldn’t speak and continuously nodded while looking at the latter. This caused the TV host to hug the comedian before asking the director to take a short break.

During the talk show’s Dec. 28 episode, a more energetic Boobay explained that the “unexpected” moment was caused by “absent seizure,” which occurs when too many things are happening in the brain at once. He added that it was also as an effect of his mild stroke in 2016.

“Hindi ko inakala kasi biglaan ang nangyari na tinatawag na ‘absent seizure,’ or ‘yung bigla-bigla na lang nagha-hang,” he said. “Nangyayari pala ‘yun kapag nagkakaroon ng ‘too much na pangyayari’ sa brain mo at mas nag-trigger after mangyari sa’kin na mild stroke, or parang may lamat na raw ang brain ko, noong 2016. Siguro nangyari pala ‘yun dati, hindi ko lang alam.”

(I didn’t expect that I would go through an “absent seizure” or the sudden hanging at the time. It happens when so many events are happening in your brain. It was also triggered by a previous mild stroke, or some sort of a crack in my brain, in 2016. Maybe those things happened before, I just didn’t know.)

Boobay also confessed that he was very nervous during his previous appearance at the show, and that he initially couldn’t watch clips of himself going through an absent seizure on social media.

“Ngayon ko lang napanood. Hindi ako tumitingin, lalo sa TikTok. Kapag sinabi mong Boobay, ‘yun agad ang lumalabas. Hindi ko siya pinapanood. Pero ngayong napanood ko na, puro ganoon pala ako nang ganoon. Hindi ko alam ang ginagawa ko diyan,” he said, while nodding continuously in an attempt to make light of the incident.

(I just watched it now. I never watched it anywhere, especially on Tiktok. When you look up the word “Boobay,” this particular incident immediately pops up. I never watched it. But now that I’ve seen it, I never realized that I had nodded continuously. I didn’t know what I was doing at the time.)

The comedian also opened up about dealing with lack of sleep prior to his viral guest appearance.

“Isa po sa mga nagti-trigger [sa ‘absent seizure’] is kapag kinakabahan ka palagi,” he said. “At the same time, kasama na d’un ‘yung lack of sleep kaya very important na relaxed ka palagi dapat. Ang maganda po, nagpapasalamat ako kay Lord lalo kasi parang naging eye opener yon sa ating mga Kapuso na pahalagahan ‘yung pahinga.”

(One of the causes that trigger an absent seizure is when you’re always nervous. At the same time, it is also caused by lack of sleep. That’s why it’s very important to relax. What’s good about this, and I’m thankful to the Lord, is it became an eye opener for me and the viewers to prioritize rest.)

According to health platform webMD, an absent seizure occurs when “abnormal activity” happens in the brain, and it usually lasts between 10 and 30 seconds. This causes the person to “abruptly” stop what they’re doing then stare into space.