The Real Housewives of Orange County star Vicki Gunvalson is lucky to be alive after contracting a deadly infection that was almost fatal. The reality star revealed that doctors told her the infection only had a 10 to 20 percent survival rate.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Speaking on My Friend, My Soulmate, My Podcast, Gunvalson and her boyfriend Michael Smith discussed the Real Housewives star's illness. She realized that she was missing time and began speaking in gibberish. She said, "There seems to be about an hour or two that I was missing and I don't know where I was."
Gunvalson met with a client of hers, who was a retired ER doctor. The former doctor immediately alerted Gunvalson's employee that the reality star might be having a stroke. Gunvalson said, "From that point on, I really don't remember much." Initially doctors misdiagnosed her with a sinus infection and sent her home.
However, her boyfriend decided she wasn't acting right. Gunvalson was passed out in the bath, and later slept 14 hours in bed. She didn't respond to him in a proper manner.
"She had a massive infection. It was actually sepsis, but it was pneumonia," he said, "and what happened... is that when your body is fighting that big of an infection and that dangerous of an infection, your whole body attacks it, which affects the brain and everything else in your body because your body sends everything it has to fight it."
'Real Housewives' Star Almost Dies
According to the Real Housewives star, her doctors gave her a "10 to 20 percent survival [rate]. They said, "The sepsis that went to your body is deadly, and you survived it. So, you're going to be OK. It's going to take a while."
"There was a litany of things that could have happened or gone wrong, and it didn't so, thank you, Jesus," she said. She thanked her boyfriend for saving her. "I don't remember much, and that's the trauma of the brain."
Following her diagnosis, doctors put her on antibiotics and steroids.
Smith said he was terrified. He said, "I was trying to be the stone-faced tough guy, but it was scary for a while. She's doing better, she will be fine. She's coming out of it."
The Real Housewives star reflected on how quickly life can change.
She said, "I mean, rewind a week ago, we were in Barcelona walking 16 [to] 20,000 steps, and we were having the time of our life, and three days later, [I'm in the hospital]."
