Jamie Lynn Sigler believes in miracles after witnessing her son Beau’s health recovery following a month-long hospitalization – and she’s revealing the powerful comment he made to her as he was on the mend.
“He looked at me with such clear certainty a few weeks after he was sort of coming out of everything,” Sigler, 44, exclusively told Us Weekly for her recent cover story promoting her upcoming book, And So It Is…: A Memoir of Acceptance and Hope. “He said, ‘I went through this for you.’ I just looked at him and kind of nodded. He goes, ‘You needed to see me. You needed to see a body get better. You needed to see a miracle.’”
Sigler publicly revealed her Multiple Sclerosis (MS) diagnosis in January 2016. Although she was diagnosed at age 20 while filming The Sopranos, she kept her condition a secret for nearly 15 years in fear that it could negatively impact her acting career.
In August 2024, Sigler found herself as a hands-on caregiver for her then 10-year-old son when he was hospitalized and diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). After 33 days in the hospital, Beau was able to return home.
“He’s a miracle, and he has changed, but it’s like this experience has just cracked him open,” Sigler shared with Us. “I don’t think there’s a week that goes by that I don’t have three or four random people text me or come up to me and be like, ‘I just met your son, Beau. He is just the most loving, wonderful human,’ and it’s from his experience.”
Ever since sharing her own health struggles with the world, Sigler has been praised by family, friends and fans for spreading awareness and going above the call of duty to uplift and inspire strangers in similar situations.
To this day, the actress may not realize the complete impact she has had.
Jamie-Lynn Sigler Gary Miller/Getty Images
“My husband [Cutter Dykstra] tells me all the time. He’s like, ‘That’s how people feel about you, Jamie, and it’s because of what you’ve been through. You’re so open. You’re so loving. You’re so there.’ … That’s the gift I want to give other people. Your pain doesn’t have to break you. Your pain can break you free. Your pain can open your heart.”
Nearly two years since Beau’s health scare, Sigler admits that her family is “still putting the pieces together,” but they have changed in positive ways.
“From this, we’re always grateful and present and really just feel lucky that we’re all here,” she said.
“I definitely had to call on strength that I didn’t even know I had. I had to find a voice that I’ve never used before. I radically opened myself up to help,” Sigler continued. “I remember just getting on my knees in just pure surrender like ‘God, I have nothing left. I need help.’ I have never felt more pain, but also more love and just really understanding what’s right on the other side of it. And I truly feel like everything in my life that I’ve been through prepared me for who I needed to be in those moments for my son.”
And So It Is…: A Memoir of Acceptance and Hope hits bookstores on Tuesday, May 5.
