Andrea McLean has faced a terrifying health battle after collapsing in her bathroom. She shared details of the frightening health battle that left her hospitalised. The 55-year-old was lying on the floor when her husband, Nick Feeney, found her an hour later. She was later diagnosed with severe pneumonia, acute kidney injury, and sepsis.
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The TV personality, who left Loose Women in 2020, has recently struggled with her health. However, despite battling long Covid and other conditions, she did not expect her latest illness to leave her in a critical state. Writing on Instagram, she admitted:
I didn’t see THAT coming…
This comes after her fellow co-stars Janet Street-Porter and Linda Robson have also dealt with health issues recently.
Andrea Mclean rushed to hospital after collapsing on bathroom floor
Andrea’s health scare began in December 2024 when she came down with what she believed was a bad case of the flu. For seven days, she experienced high fevers, chills, and severe pain in her chest and back. Writing about her experience on her Substack, she explained that she pushed through the flu assuming it would pass, but her condition only worsened.
Her ordeal reached its peak when she collapsed in the bathroom and was unable to move for an hour. She shared:
I collapsed in the bathroom, and like the adverts you see on telly with the elderly, I lay there for an hour before my husband found me.
When her husband discovered her, they immediately contacted their GP, who urged them to call 999. She added:
The ambulance team were amazing. My blood pressure was so low I couldn’t stand, and I was in a lot of pain.
After being admitted to hospital, Andrea underwent X-rays and CT scans, which revealed she had severe pneumonia, acute kidney injury, and sepsis. She was rushed to the Emergency Assessment Ward, where she received urgent medical treatment, including IV antibiotics and fluids.
Andrea’s hospital stay was anything but easy. She spent four days in a ward, describing it as ‘constant pain and sensory overload.’ She was the youngest patient in a room filled with elderly women, some suffering from dementia, which led to chaotic nights filled with shouting, confusion, and distressing scenes.
She recounted how her first night in the Respiratory Ward was especially harrowing, with one patient repeatedly yelling, ‘I want to get up!’ while another aggressively pulled at the curtain separating them. The noise, the distress of other patients, and the overwhelming hospital environment made it difficult for her to rest or recover. She described:
It felt like something out of a warped horror movie; I was trapped in a bed, in pain, unable to move, and a very scary old lady was trying to attack me.
Eventually, after days of unrest in the hospital ward, the doctors came to a compromise that she could go back home to sleep but had to return every day for her antibiotic drips.
Understanding Andrea McLean’s diagnosis
Andrea was diagnosed with severe pneumonia, a lung infection that inflames the air sacs and can cause difficulty breathing, chest pain, and fever. Left untreated, it can lead to life-threatening complications including acute kidney injury—a sudden loss of kidney function that can cause waste buildup in the body—and sepsis, a severe reaction to infection that can be fatal if not treated immediately. Two conditions that Andrea was also diagnosed with.
This meant Andrea required intensive care, with strong antibiotics administered through IV and continuous medical supervision. Sepsis, in particular, is known for its rapid progression, and she was fortunate to receive treatment before organ failure occurred.
Though she has since been discharged from the hospital, McLean is still struggling with post-infection fatigue and lingering effects. She admitted:
It’s now February, and I’m still not well enough to handle normal stuff like getting up and rushing out the door to do the jobs I’d been booked to do, because every part of that process would end with me falling down, or at the very least sitting on a tube station floor feeling very unwell and embarrassed at the stares.
I’m still having ‘funny turns’ while out for a walk, or attempting the mildest of exercise.
Her recovery has been slow, requiring continued medical monitoring and regular visits for antibiotic drips.
Despite the ordeal, Andrea remains optimistic. She has focused on maintaining a healthier balance in her life and is taking every step necessary to rebuild her strength. She added:
Life stopped for a while, but that’s all. I’m not better yet, but I will be.
Andrea McLean’s past health struggles
This is not the first time Andrea has faced serious health challenges. In 2016, she was diagnosed with medium vessel vasculitis, a rare autoimmune disease that was discovered during a hysterectomy, reports The Express. The condition, which causes inflammation of the blood vessels, could have been life-threatening if left undiagnosed. She told Belfast Telegraph at that time:
It’s hugely frightening and a shock to think you might die. You’re kind of braced to hear the word ‘cancer’, but this was something I’d never heard of; it was rare and apparently without cure.
Weirdly, my hysterectomy saved my life, because the condition might not have been discovered if I hadn’t had it.
In addition to vasculitis, Andrea has long battled endometriosis. The painful condition led to fertility struggles, which played a major role in her personal life. According to the Mirror, she revealed she gave her then-boyfriend, Nick Green, an ultimatum about starting a family after being told she would struggle to conceive. The pair married in 2000 and welcomed their son, Finlay, after undergoing IVF. However, their marriage ended in 2005.
McLean has also suffered from long Covid, which forced her to shut down her business, Girl Is On Fire, in 2023. She spent months battling extreme fatigue, which impacted her career.
This article has been created with the help of AI.
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Sources used:
The Independent: Loose Women star rushed to hospital with severe pneumonia and sepsis after collapsing at home
Andrea McLean’s Substack: I didn’t see THAT coming…
The Express: Andrea McLean issues update after eight-month health battle led to career downturn
Mirror: Loose Women star Andrea McLean gave boyfriend ultimatum after devastating diagnosis
