Vicki Gunvalson, who is famous for her role on The Real Housewives of Orange County, recently revealed that she had a very serious infection that she had little chance of surviving. She shared candid details about her frightening experience.
Entertainment Weekly reported that the reality star was diagnosed with a sinus infection before going on a trip to Europe with her family in August. After returning home, she was prescribed antibiotics. However, Gunvalson began experiencing amnesia and stroke-like symptoms. During her second trip to the hospital, it was discovered that the infection had become potentially life-threatening.
She spoke about the horrifying experience in a new episode of her podcast ‘My Friend, My Soulmate, My Podcast.’
The RHOC star said, “I said, did I hear that right that I have a 10 to 20 percent chance of survival?” That’s when she learned that the sepsis that went through her body was “fatal,” and she survived. She was told that she would be fine in some time.
According to the outlet, Gunvalson recalled being at the hair salon last Thursday, but she was missing for one to two hours and doesn’t remember where she was.
She arrived at the office and a client was there to meet her. The Bravo star said that her boyfriend Michael Smith’s daughter Olivia, who worked with her, said she was “talking nonsense” and writing an email that made no sense. Her client, a retired ER doctor, thought she might be suffering a stroke.
This was when Olivia rushed him to the hospital and called her father, who was out of town at the time. During that time, the reality star claimed she was “misdiagnosed” and treated for a sinus infection.
Her condition worsened after she was sent home. When her boyfriend arrived at her home, he claimed he found her unconscious in a bathtub full of water.
According to the publication, Smith said that one of the “scariest things” for him was when he walked in and for some reason, Gunvalson decided to take a bath. “So she was in the bathtub with water running and I walked in and she almost passed out,” he said, adding, “So I grabbed her, that was scary, and I grabbed her, pulled her out of the water, put her on the bed.”
The reality star slept for about 14 hours, which resulted in her boyfriend realizing something wasn’t right. He said he tried to wake her up from bed, but she had no idea where she was.
Smith rushed her to the hospital, where they discovered she had pneumonia. “She had a massive infection… it was actually sepsis, but it was pneumonia,” he said.
Smith explained that he elaborated that when someone’s body is fighting off that massive and “dangerous” infection, that person’s entire body “attacks it.” According to the outlet, the infection also affected his brain function.
Gunvalson was discharged from the hospital after receiving careful care and taking steroids and antibiotics. As of now, she has not fully recovered. The reality show star said that she is having difficulty “getting up,” which is a big deal for her. She mentioned that she is feeling weak.
Expressing gratitude for her boyfriend and her daughter who saved her life, she said, “I really feel like I had my guardian angels with Olivia and Michael, and my friend Tina was also there and just looked after me.” The reality TV star also mentioned that she couldn’t have gone through this experience alone and that she’s still dealing with some “trauma” from the incident. When Smith asked her why she cried so much, she admitted she didn’t have an answer.
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