• Real Housewives of Orange County‘s Vicki Gunvalson recently opened up about a health scare she experienced.
• What she initially thought was a stroke turned out to be pneumonia and sepsis.
• Sepsis is a potentially fatal overreaction of the immune system to an infection.
• The businesswoman said she was given a 10% to 20% chance of survival.
• She is now recovering but still dealing with low energy.

On an episode of My Friend, My Soulmate, My Podcast, she shakily told host Christian Gray Snow that she had nearly died.

The reality star explained that she was having her boyfriend Michael Smith join her because she had experienced amnesia and couldn’t remember all of the events that had occurred.

“Michael’s going to come in when I get blank,” she said.

Gunvalson then went on to relate how she had gotten her hair done and then went to the office on the day that it happened.

When she arrived at the office, Smith’s daughter Olivia, who worked there, was the first to notice something wasn’t right, she said.

She told the businesswoman that she was “speaking gibberish” and that an email she was typing didn’t make sense.

Luckily for Gunvalson, the client she was meeting with, who happened to be an emergency room doctor, suggested that she might be having a stroke, prompting her boyfriend’s daughter to take her to the hospital.

“And so, really, from that point on, I don’t recall much,” she said, breaking into tears.

She went on to reveal that the hospital “misdiagnosed” her with a sinus infection and released her that night.

Taking over, Smith told Snow that about three weeks earlier, Gunvalson had gotten on antibiotics to treat a sinus infection that was taking longer than usual to go away.

Smith then discussed coming home and finding the star “passed out” in the bathtub, after which he put her in bed to allow her to rest.

When he woke her “about 13-14 hours later,” Smith said she was “so discombobulated” that he was afraid she was having a stroke.

This led to a quick trip to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with pneumonia and sepsis and was given what Gunvalson recalled as a “10% to 20% [chance] of survival.”

After hospitalization and treatment with multiple antibiotics and steroids, Gunvalson is now home. However, she said that she is still low on energy. “I’m having a hard time getting it up. So that’s my biggest thing,” she said.

What is sepsis?

Dr. Steve R. Fallek, who is a board-certified plastic surgeon and Medical Advisor to the Maskad and Revivv brands, explained that sepsis is a life-threatening condition that occurs when an infection causes widespread inflammation.

“This inflammation can trigger a cascade of changes that damage multiple organ systems, leading them to fail, sometimes resulting in death,” he explained.

Fallek added that any type of infection — whether it’s bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic — can potentially lead to sepsis.

If a person is experiencing sepsis, the symptoms can vary, he said, but generally, people will have a combination of the following:

• High fever or very low body temperature
• Rapid heart rate
• Rapid breathing or shortness of breath
• Confusion or disorientation
• Extreme pain or discomfort
• Clammy or sweaty skin

How can sepsis happen?

“Sepsis can happen when an infection that is not properly managed spreads into the bloodstream or throughout the body,” said Fallek.

“This triggers an immune response that, instead of only attacking the infection, also damages healthy tissues and organs,” he said.

Among the conditions that can cause sepsis are pneumonia, urinary tract infections, abdominal infections, and blood infections.

Having a weakened immune system, chronic illnesses, recent surgery, or hospitalization, particularly in intensive care units, can also set the stage for sepsis to occur, according to Fallek.

Dr. John C. Lowe, a physician with Restore Care, described sepsis as being caused by “the hyperactivity of the immune system.”

“The molecules are put in the blood to suppress the infection but in most victims, this leads to too much irritation,” he explained.

When this occurs, people can experience localized blood clotting, increased permeability of the blood vessels, low blood pressure, fluid accumulation in the tissues, and poor blood flow to the brain and organs.

“If the events are not rapidly intervened, they may culminate in dysfunction of more organs, development of septic shock and eventual death,” said Lowe.

What should you do if you suspect you have sepsis?

Lowe said that sepsis is an emergency, which means that every minute counts.

“In case you think you have sepsis or someone else has it, then do not wait and consult the physician,” he said.

Lowe further explained that treatments for sepsis, such as antibiotics and intravenous fluids, are only effective if administered quickly.

“In case there is a persistent rapid heart rate with confusion, breathlessness, or other features of sepsis, do not hesitate—either call out for an ambulance or rush to the hospital,” he advised.

“This is the kind of state where every second can count for life or death,” Lowe concluded.

Takeaway

Real Housewives of Orange County star Vicki Gunvalson recently spoke on My Friend, My Soulmate, My Podcast about a close brush with death that she experienced a few weeks prior.

The reality star, who was being treated for a sinus infection, thought she was having a stroke, but it turned out that she had pneumonia and sepsis.

Sepsis is an overreaction of the immune system to a bad infection. If not treated quickly, it can cause people to go into septic shock and die.

If you are ever experiencing symptoms of sepsis — such as rapid heart rate, confusion, and breathlessness — experts say you shouldn’t hesitate to seek out emergency medical care.