Cliff Notes – Sam Vanderpump: ‘If I’d got to hospital 24 hours later I wouldn’t have made it’
- Sam Vanderpump, 28, revealed he is battling irreversible end-stage liver disease and is awaiting a transplant, with a limited life expectancy without it.
- He experienced a near-death situation due to liver and kidney failure, which led to life-threatening sepsis, requiring urgent hospitalisation.
- Despite his serious condition, Sam remains optimistic about his future and aims to use his platform to raise awareness about organ donation, highlighting the 8,000 people currently on the waiting list in the UK.
Sam Vanderpump: ‘If I’d got to hospital 24 hours later I wouldn’t have made it’
Made in Chelsea star Sam Vanderpump has said he was near-death before being rushed to hospital.
Last month the reality star, 28, revealed he’d been diagnosed with an irreversible end-stage liver disease.
It came after he shared earlier this year that he’d had a near-death experience after suffering liver and kidney failure, which caused his stomach to swell and triggered life-threatening sepsis.
Sam, who is the nephew of Vanderpump Rules and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Vanderpump, is now waiting on a transplant. If he doesn’t, his life expectancy is predicted to only be a few more years.
Appearing on This Morning on Wednesday alongside his fiancée Alice Yaxley, who is pregnant, Sam shared details about his serious health diagnosis.
First diagnosed with a genetic liver condition aged four, Sam said his mum first noticed his stomach was bloating.
Sam Vanderpump has spoken about how close he came to death (Picture: Ken McKay/ ITV/ Shutterstock)
The Made in Chelsea star recently revealed he had irreversible end-stage liver disease (Picture: Ken McKay/ ITV/ Shutterstock)
Over the years doctors had warned he might need a liver transplant at some stage but had also offered reassurances that he was ‘healthy and normal’.
‘Just before I got sepsis they were saying they only needed to see me annually, and then I got ill last year with sepsis and things talk a turn.
‘I thought I had the flu and was severely dehydrated. We went Christmas shopping, and I went home and slept for two days.
‘Then Alice realised I wasn’t right, and I got taken to hospital and was told that my organs were going into failure.’
Alice explained how terrifying the news was, saying: ‘It was very scary, especially when doctors didn’t know what was going on.’
Sam went on to explain that it took time for a diagnosis to be reached.
He is currently expecting his first child with fiancee Alice Yaxley (Picture: Ken McKay/ ITV/ Shutterstock)
‘They flooded my body with the strongest antibiotics they could find. They said it was literally like using an industrial cleaner on me. So much to the point that after 48 hours I finally got better and to respond, but they said that it was very touch and go at one point and if I’d gone into hospital 24 hours later I wouldn’t have made it.’
Although Sam went on to have ‘several reinfections’ after, he believed he was on the mend.
But just over two months ago, he received a notification on the NHS app saying his new doctor was recommending he be reviewed for a liver transplant.
‘It was crazy and such a radical turn,’ he went on.
‘It was definitely a shock, and I was quite frantic.
‘I told my doctor I felt perfectly well and am not jaundiced. But he said that he wouldn’t be having the conversation that if in four or five years’ times he thought I’d be ok.’
However, Sam said that with a liver transplant he’d be able to live a normal and healthy life.
‘I’m an optimist and positive person and I think everything happens for a reason. There’s a reason why it’s happened, and I’ve gone on TV previous times to talk about jovial things, so now is the time to use my platform to speak about something that can help other people.’
He went on to explain that in the UK, there are currently 8,000 people waiting for organ donations.
He was diagnosed with a liver condition when he was just 4 (Picture: Sam Vanderpump/ Instagram)
During the segment, Dr Nighat Arif also appeared to speak about her own experience with liver disease, sharing that her now 10-year-old son was diagnosed when he was just six weeks old.
When he was four months old, he was then put on a transplant list and eventually received one when he was 11 months old.
During an emotional conversation revealing his latest health update when speaking with Ollie Locke on Made in Chelsea, Sam had said: ‘We had a call from the doctors, and I’ve got end stage liver disease.
‘There is no hope of my liver getting better and he said I wouldn’t be having this call with you if I thought you could make it through the next four or five years. They’re sending me for liver transplant assessment, so yeah.’
After being asked by Ollie how he was feeling, Sam continued: ‘The way I look at it is I’m healthy now, hopefully I will remain healthy all the way up until I’ll get a call and go in for surgery and then I wake up and I’ll be healthier.’
Sam shared his latest health update on an episode of Made in Chelsea (Picture: Channel 4)
Asked how long this will take, Sam added that people ‘will be higher up on the list who can’t survive the surgery’, so he couldn’t be sure.
Speaking in March after his health scare, Sam said he had recovered physically from the ‘terrifying’ ordeal but was suffering from health anxiety.
He had told The Daily Mail he ‘burst into tears’ and thought he was ‘going to die’.
‘They told me I was the sickest patient on the ward.’
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV1. Made in Chelsea is streaming on Channel 4.
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