REAL Housewives of Orange County star Vicki Gunvalson has opened up about winding up in the hospital from an infection.
Vicki, 62, went into sepsis after experiencing stroke-like symptoms from pneumonia earlier this month.
The reality star discussed the experience on the Monday episode of her podcast, My Friend, My Soulmate, My Podcast.
Vicki said she was diagnosed with a sinus infection before heading to her European vacation in early August.
After being prescribed antibiotics, she started experiencing amnesia and symptoms that were similar to those of a stroke shortly after returning home.
During her second trip to the hospital, doctors realized the infection had potentially become deadly and told her she had a 10% to 20% chance of survival.
“Yes, the sepsis that went to your body is deadly and you survived it. And so you’re going to be okay. It’s just going to take a while,” she recalled being told.
The former Bravo personality is currently recovering and resting at home.
SCARY EXPERIENCE
Vicki went into detail about the moment others around her realized she was potentially having a stroke.
The RHOC alum remembered “an hour or two that was missing,” during which she didn’t know where she was after getting to her hair salon.
Olivia, her co-worker and the daughter of her boyfriend, Michael Smith, said Vicki was “talking gibberish” and wrote an e-mail that “didn’t make sense.”
After one of her clients noted she was having stroke-like symptoms, Olivia brought her to the hospital.
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Vicki said she was “misdiagnosed” and was sent home, noting her condition could have turned deadly at that point.
When her boyfriend came over soon after, he found her passed out in a bathtub filled with water.
Michael recounted the moment, noting how Vicki could have drowned as he pulled her out and put her to bed.
After The Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip star slept for nearly 14 hours and woke up unaware of her surroundings, her boyfriend brought her to the hospital once more.
Vicki Gunvalson’s Health Scare
The RHOC star experienced terrifying symptoms after returning from a trip to Europe in August 2024
- Vicki was diagnosed with a sinus infection and prescribed antibiotics before going on a trip to Europe in early August
- After returning home, she started feeling lethargic and wasn’t making sense to those around her
- Her boyfriend’s daughter rushed her to the hospital after a client believed she may have been having a stroke
- Vicki was misdiagnosed and sent home, where her boyfriend, Michael, found her unconscious in a bathtub full of water
- Brought to the hospital again, Vicki had a massive infection and was diagnosed with pneumonia, which was actually sepsis
- The star was released from the hospital after a few days but still felt weak after returning home
She was then diagnosed with pneumonia.
“She had a massive infection. It was actually sepsis, but it was pneumonia,” Michael said.
“The way they explained it is that when your body is fighting that big of an infection and that dangerous of an infection, your whole body attacks it.”
Vicki was released from the hospital after several days; however, she is still dealing with the aftermath.
Along with being lethargic and lacking energy, Vicki said she has a hard time getting up and is still very weak.
“It was dangerous,” Michael added. “I mean, I’m just trying not to play into it, but it was scary.”
Vicki’s podcast cohost, Christian Gray Snow, gave his thoughts on the star’s recent health scare.
“Seeing Vicki go through this in the last week has been nothing short of devastating. And terrifying,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
“Every time I felt I had an understanding of what happened, I’d learn another detail and be immediately sent back to shock when realizing just how close we came to losing Vicki.”
Vicki was a main cast member on RHOC from Seasons 1 through 13 before being demoted to a “friend” in Season 14.
Although she briefly quit the show in 2020, Vicki later appeared as a guest star for five episodes in Season 17.
