Loose Women star Gloria Hunniford opened up about the time she was rushed to the hospital for an emergency surgery.
After the 85-year-old was diagnosed with kidney stones, she had to undergo a series of surgeries, one of which led to another unprecedented health scare following general anaesthesia.
Recalling the experience, she said: "The last thing they said before I went into the theatre was: 'When I take this stent out, you are going to feel so much better'."
The Rip Off Britain star continued: "But the next thing I knew coming out of the anaesthetic 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.'"
© Ken McKay/ITV/ShutterstockAfter being moved from the hospital in Maidstone to another accident and emergency ward nearby, Gloria's energy was completely depleted. "It was like somebody had put a tap in my body and just drained all the energy," she revealed.
Though the doctors later identified that the cause of her severe symptoms was kidney sepsis, the infection had fortunately not yet spread beyond her kidney.
Reflecting on the toll that the incident took on her, the Loose Women legend said: "I guess that's why I felt so awful, and it did flatten me for a while."
She also opened up about the strenuous recovery period, in which she spent the majority of her time resting up, with low energy and little appetite: "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 difficult year
The beloved Loose Women panelist has not had an easy year, after the tragic passing of her husband Stephen Way in August 2024, just a year after the couple's 25th wedding anniversary.
Gloria paid tribute to her "kind and caring husband", stating that: "Stephen was a gentleman and a giant of a man, who will leave the most enormous void not only in my life, but our entire family. He was an incredibly kind, generous and caring man, with a delightfully quirky sense of humour, which remained till the end."
She concluded: "We had a tremendously happy 25-year marriage and did so many beautiful and exciting things together that I will always cherish."
See the heartfelt message from Gloria's Loose Women co-star Denise Welch below…
