Ty Pennington has shared an update after suffering a health scare last summer.
The HGTV host, 59, was hospitalized days after attending the "Barbie" premiere back in July and had to undergo surgery to address an abscess in the back of his throat. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Pennington said he has since made a full recovery.
"I'm great," he said. "You know what's great is if you almost die, you get so much attention. It feels so nice to be that loved. I'm planning another one. … No, I'm kidding!"
Pennington went on to describe the events that led to his hospitalization.
"I had this abscess in my throat and I woke up I couldn't breathe," he recalled. "I drove down the mountain to the hospital, and I'm just like, 'Hey, can you give me a steroid to help shrink the swelling?' And [the doctor] goes, 'What if it's more than that? What if you close up and can't breathe?' I'm like, 'Oh my God.' He's like, 'I think we need to fly you to Denver.' And I wake up and I have a tube in my throat."
After the medical emergency, Pennington shared some details on Instagram along with a photo of himself recuperating in the hospital.
"From the red carpet, to the ICU … this last week has been interesting! I'm okay now, still recovering," he wrote, referencing his attendance at the Los Angeles Barbie premiere, according to Entertainment Weekly. "Wednesday I had surgery and yesterday afternoon I was released from the ICU. … A great reminder to LISTEN to your body when it's telling you something."
Pennington explained that the experience taught him the importance of living life to the fullest.
"It made me realize you just don't know when your timecard's gonna get pulled, so wake up, live every single day to the fullest," he said. "I mean that's why the 60s is gonna be like time to start doing everything, and that's what I love about being part of these projects, because I think we all want to make sure we've done things to be remembered."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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