Reality star Sam Vanderpump will next month start assessments to determine whether he will be approved for a liver transplant, but the star has shared the heartbreaking reality of his condition
Sam Vanderpump, 28, says he “doesn’t want to die”. The reality star is currently waiting to discover if he is eligible for a liver transplant.
Earlier this year, he admitted he “nearly died” after getting sepsis, which was caused by liver and kidney failure. He was born with the rare conditions, polycystic kidney disease and congenital hepatic fibrosis of the liver, but they lay dormant in his body until December, when he contracted the flu.
Now, he admits that there is no hope of his liver recovering and will undergo an assessment to determine whether he can have a transplant in order to save him. “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,” he told Ollie Locke on Monday’s episode of Made In Chelsea.
Now, in a new interview, the nephew of Real Housewives icon Lisa Vanderpump has opened up about his condition and how he has been struggling with the devastating news.
The star, who was informed of his prognosis just several days before the emotional episode was filmed said he was “sobbing” as he told his pal Ollie about his condition. Currently, Sam, past the age of 53, has a fifty-fifty chance of survival. Although finding out he needs a transplant was the “scariest thing ever”, he was reassured when he discovered a woman had a transplant aged ten but is now in her 40s.
When he was admitted to hospital earlier this year due to his sepsis, Sam was pumped with antibiotics as doctors battled to save him. “Waking up in sweats… crying… not knowing where I was. During those first few days, it was scary. You don’t want to die. It was terrifying,” he told the Daily Mail.
His fiancée Alice Yaxley, who is expecting their first child, added: “I never for a second thought he was going to die. Sam is a very strong, very resilient person. Anyone who actually knows you, Sam, thinks you’ll always be fine because there’s just something about you. An energy.”
Sam was filming the E4 reality show with his aunt, Lisa, when he received a notification on the NHS phone app, stating he needed a liver transplant. On August 21, he received a message reading: “Dear Samuel Vanderpump, we reviewed your latest CT scan and the findings are keeping well within your known diagnosis… We feel the best way is for us to organise a liver transplant assessment.”
This is how Sam found out he needed a transplant. At the moment, Sam is unsure when his transplant will be, as he admits there are other patients who are “higher up on the list”.
Earlier this year, Sam opened up on his terrifying battle with sepsis and revealed he came close to dying as his liver and kidneys failed. Sam candidly discussed the terrifying experience while also sharing an insight into his relationship.
He said: “Over Christmas, we went through a bit of an episode together where I got really, really ill.” Recalling the sudden onset of his illness. He explains that a genetic condition led to an infection, which rapidly escalated into sepsis. “I got an infection due to a genetic disease I’ve got, which led to sepsis, and it ended up quite bad. I was in hospital and it was a close call; I could have died.”
The ordeal began with Sam experiencing severe back pain and dehydration, symptoms he initially dismissed as flu-like. However, his condition deteriorated rapidly, leading to delirium. Recognising the severity, Alice acted swiftly. “By calling the ambulance, my fiancé literally saved my life,” Sam acknowledges.
Doctors later informed him that if he had been admitted just 24 hours later, it might have been too late, as his liver and kidneys had begun to fail.
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