Sheryl Lee Ralph opens up about when her son was shot: 'I collapsed and dropped the phone'

Sheryl Lee Ralph has had quite the career - but nothing is as meaningful to her as motherhood. And the 66-year-old actress is opening up about a few of the toughest moments she's faced in that role as parent to Etienne Maurice, 31, and Ivy-Victoria "Coco" Maurice, 28.

Two of those moments involved her son, Etienne.

"When Etienne was in college, he had a car accident and suffered a concussion. It changed his whole brain," the "Abbott Elementary" star told AARP Magazine.

Concussions can impact judgment, memory, speech, muscle coordination and balance, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. And, if you have a second concussion, impacts can be "permanently disabling" according to AANS.

Ralph, who is one of USA TODAY's 2023 women of the year, had another scary moment with Etienne, too.

"Then he got mugged, and they shot him three times," Ralph said. "He woke up in the hospital with two bullets in his leg and a wound in his forehead where a bullet had grazed him."

The Emmy Winner added that "when I heard he’d been shot, I collapsed and dropped the phone. I didn’t even listen to the rest. But they didn’t kill him, thank God."

Now, Etienne is operating his own nonprofit, a production company called WalkGoodLA, that is focused on wellness.

While parenthood has come with challenges and scary incidents, Ralph sees her children as her "greatest gift."

"I knew I was going to be somebody’s mother," she said. "When I met their father, my first husband, I could see my children just as clearly as they are in life right now."

After she married Eric Maurice, they had Etienne and then Coco. "The marriage lasted almost 10 years. If I had a regret in life, it would be that I didn’t have more children. But I have two beautiful children."

As she embraces height of her career:Sheryl Lee Ralph named a Women of the Year honoree