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It’s been more than a month since Whoopi Goldberg sat at the table with the rest of her “The View” co-hosts, but that’s because she almost died of double pneumonia and sepsis.
In a video played Friday on “The View,” Goldberg, 63, revealed: “I am OK, I’m not dead. And yes, I came very, very close to leaving the Earth. Good news, I didn’t.”
Goldberg’s disclosure about how sick she was serves as a reminder that pneumonia is both a common illness in the United States and that it can be serious and life-threatening.
About 1 million U.S. adults seek care in the hospital each year for pneumonia, and about 50,000 people annually die from the disease, according to the American Thoracic Society.
Another high-profile person who suffered from pneumonia in the past year but who sadly didn’t survive was actress Kim Porter, the ex-girlfriend of music mogul Sean Combs. Porter, who died in November at age 47, was the mother of three of Combs’ children. Authorities said she had lobar pneumonia, in which one part of the lung is affected, People reported.
Double pneumonia, which Goldberg said she had, is an infection that inflames the air sacs in both lungs. The inflammation can be caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi and can lead to symptoms such as chest pain, coughing, fatigue, fever, and difficulty breathing, according to the Mayo Clinic.
While the body is usually able to stop these germs from infecting the lungs, the germs sometimes overpower the immune system, even in people who are otherwise healthy. The symptoms can range from mild to life-threatening, but pneumonia is most serious for infants and young children, people older than 65 and people with weakened immune systems.
People with “community-acquired pneumonia,” which means they became infected outside of a hospital, can be treated at home with a combination of antibiotics, medication to reduce pain and fever, and cough medications, the Mayo Clinic said. However, those over 65 or who are experiencing difficulty breathing and other symptoms may need to be hospitalized.
Goldberg also mentioned in the video that she “became septic.” Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that happens when the body’s immune system becomes out of balance while fighting an infection and triggers a response that can damage vital organs, the Mayo Clinic said.
Pneumonia is the most common cause of sepsis and septic shock, causing 50 percent of all cases, the Thoracic Society added. Those with sepsis need close monitoring and treatment with antibiotics and intravenous fluids in an intensive care unit.
Even without the sepsis, full recovery from pneumonia can be a slow process, which probably explains why Goldberg’s last appearance was Feb. 5. In the video, the comedian and actress said, “I am up and I’m moving around, but not as fast as I would like.”
The slow recovery is due to the fact that it takes time for mucus to clear from the respiratory tract and from deep inside the lungs, Harihan Regunath, M.D., a pulmonary disease specialist with University of Missouri Health Care, said in an interview with Good Housekeeping.
It can take an average of 21 days in adults older than 50 to recover from the weakness, shortness of breath and tiredness brought on by pneumonia, according to a 2015 study. Other studies have shown that people still experience symptoms more than six weeks and up to three months later.
