TV star Gloria Hunniford, 82, rushed to hospital with life-threatening condition
Gloria Hunniford has shared details of her frightening ordeal which saw the TV star rushed to hospital
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Gloria Hunniford has revealed that she was rushed to A&E by ambulance with a life-threatening condition following surgery just before Christmas last year.
The Rip Off Britain presenter first underwent surgery for kidney stones, where doctors put in a stent, but after the operation she began to feel unwell.
Hunniford then went in for a second surgery to remove the stent but an ambulance was called when her blood pressure dropped.
Doctors later diagnosed her with sepsis of the kidney which left the star "flattened" and "drained of all energy".
Gloria Hunniford was diagnosed with sepsis of the kidney following two surgeries
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"The last thing [Doctors] said before I went to theatre was: 'When I take this stent out you are going to feel so much better'", she told The Mirror.
"But the next thing I knew coming out of the anesthetic, was a nurse saying to me, 'Don't worry, don't panic but we are having to transfer you by ambulance to a different hospital because we can't get your blood pressure up'".
She was then rushed to A&E in Maidstone, Kent where doctors told the presenter she had sepsis of the kidney.
Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection which happens when the immune system overreacts to an infection and starts to damage your body's own tissues and organs.
The regular panelist on Loose Women, explained her relief when she heard that the disease had not spread further than her kidney saying: "I guess that's why I felt so awful and it did flatten me for a while."
Despite doctors saying it could take six months to return to normality, the 82-year-old was back at work within weeks.
The host said she is now back to "98 per cent" health after fighting off the illness which kills 44,000 people every year in the UK.
She said: “Medical professionals said it could take up to six months to return to what one would deem normality after two anaesthetics so close together.”
Gloria Hunniford's daughter Caron Keating passed away after a seven year battle with cancer in 2004
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“I set myself little tasks and my [husband] Stephen was marvellous. He was chief cook and bottle-washer and my whole wonderful family rallied round”.
“We all know that stuff will be thrown at you and it’s how you deal with things,” she said.
Last year, Hunniford revealed that she celebrated her late daughter Caron Keating's 60th birthday with a party.
Her daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer aged just 34 and passed away from the disease in 2004 aged 41, following a seven year fight.
She added: “In my case I lost Caron. Particularly then, I thought I’d never get out of that. But attitude and learning from other people got me through.”