Ty Pennington, the well-known home renovation expert from HGTV, recently experienced some highs and lows in his life. From walking the red carpet at a movie premiere to waking up in a hospital bed, his story serves as an important lesson for all of us. In an Instagram post, Pennington urges people not to ignore unusual symptoms that persist, even if they seem insignificant at first.
Pennington reveals that he had been dealing with a sore throat for about a month. Initially, he didn’t give it much thought because there didn’t seem to be any way to get rid of it. However, things took a turn for the worse just two days after he attended the “Barbie” movie premiere. He woke up at 4 am struggling to breathe, a terrifying experience for the HGTV star.
After being rushed to the intensive care unit, Pennington finally received a diagnosis that explained his month-long ordeal.
“It turns out that the sore throat I’ve had for the last month was actually an abscess that had grown so large it was closing off my airway.”
An abscess is a painful growth filled with pus that can appear almost anywhere on the body. Sometimes, abscesses drain on their own, but other times they need to be drained by a medical professional. Once the pus is removed, the abscess is cured and disappears.
Pennington underwent surgery and was released from the ICU the following day. Despite his recovery, the reality star acknowledges the importance of sharing his experience with others.
Pennington’s Instagram post concludes with the following message: “From the red carpet to the ICU… this last week has been interesting! I’m okay now, still recovering, but I felt it looked weird that I hadn’t posted about my team #BOTB VICTORY!! SO freaking proud of @smashingdiy & @iamstevelewis !! I will post about that next. To shed some light on why I was MIA… Sunday, I hit the red carpet. Monday, I flew to Colorado to start filming in Breckenridge. And Tuesday morning, I woke up at 4 am and could barely breathe. It turns out that the sore throat I’d had for the last month was actually an abscess that had grown so large it was closing off my airway. The next thing I knew, I was intubated and flown to the ICU in Denver. Wednesday, I had surgery, and yesterday afternoon I was released from the ICU. Thank you so much to all the amazing staff at St. Anthony’s in Lakewood, CO & Summit Health in Frisco for taking such great care of me. A great reminder to LISTEN to your body when it’s telling you something. #justhappytobehere Also, even through heavy sedatives, it’s good to see I was still in the right frame of mind.”
