News | Entertainment
1 Jul 2025 11:57
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Jeannie Mai says her battle with epiglottitis was a “traumatic experience”

    The TV presenter had to quit 'Dancing with the Stars' earlier this month due to being admitted to hospital for the operation, after she was diagnosed with the potentially life-threatening condition that can cause swelling and block airflow to the lungs


    And now, Jeannie has opened up on the events that led to her surgery, revealing she was “misdiagnosed” by two doctors, whom she visited after she found she was battling strep throat whilst juggling her hectic schedule, including attending ‘DWTS’ rehearsals and shooting ‘The Real’.

    She recalled: "I got some steroid shots and continued on with that same chaotic schedule. [My doctors] misdiagnosed me and kept me on steroids, which allowed me to keep going with my taxing schedule.

    “I left rehearsals early because ... I couldn't breathe. I was wearing my mask, so sometimes [when] I couldn't breathe, I thought it was the mask, but it was really my throat cavity closing.”

    On the night of November 1, Jeannie woke up “gasping for air”, and was rushed to hospital, where she was told a "huge abscess was growing” in her throat, which she needed to have surgery on immediately.

    She added: "My sore throat turned out to be strep throat that quickly turned into a parapharyngeal abscess. I was breathing like Darth Vader. It was a traumatic experience.”

    Following her surgery, Jeannie was told she couldn’t do “any form of respiratory work” including walking fast, laughing, or getting excited, meaning she had to drop out of ‘DWTS’ for good.

    And although the news was devastating, Jeannie knew it was for the best, because she still “couldn’t breathe” even after her operation.

    She said: "The alarming thing is, I still couldn't breathe afterwards. It was even worse because now - because of extreme surgery, where he had removed my tonsils and also completely cut open the abscess in my throat in order to funnel the liquid out - my throat is swollen. I couldn't eat anything for two weeks, so I was tube feeding there in the hospital for a week, and I had a nurse come in every two hours just to make sure I was breathing.

    “Having to be on extreme critical care watch was really scary. That was another scary part, when you realise how fragile you are coming out of surgery even though everything was removed. After I left the hospital, for a week being at home, I still had to be on an IV and I could not move, because anything you do that raises your blood pressure causes your throat to tighten up.”

    Now, Jeannie says she’s “96 percent better”, and is “so thankful” to the medical team that operated on her.

    She told People magazine: "I can speak. I can't yell, but I can speak. I’m so thankful, so I'm definitely coming out into the clear now."

    © 2025 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     29 Jun: Kneecap play Glastonbury set amid terrorism charge as police investigate crowd chants
     28 Jun: Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Harvey Weinstein cases test the limits and legacy of #MeToo movement
     27 Jun: Charlize Theron's daughter was reduced to tears by her mullet
     27 Jun: Demi Lovato is releasing her first cookbook
     27 Jun: Sharon Osbourne believes that Ozzy Osbourne's fans will "carry him" through Black Sabbath's farewell gig
     27 Jun: John Cena called out a fan for filming him without permission
     27 Jun: Tom Brady is reportedly set to attend Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's lavish Italian wedding
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Levi Aumua is departing the Crusaders after two Super Rugby seasons More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    China's EV newcomer Xiaomi sells nearly 300,000 SUVs in an hour More...



     Today's News

    Cricket:
    Proverbial white smoke has emerged from the Australian cricket team's HQ in the Caribbean on their West Indies tour 11:37

    Rugby League:
    Warriors' reserve grade play-maker Tanah Boyd views himself as a logical replacement if halfback Luke Metcalf is ruled out for the NRL season with a knee injury 11:27

    National:
    Trump’s worldview is causing a global shift of alliances – what does this mean for nations in the middle? 11:17

    International:
    Musicians like Abel Selaocoe are broadening classical music to reflect our evolving stories 11:17

    Cricket:
    Black Cap Ish Sodhi's desperate to show his spinning evolution after earning a reprieve under incoming coach Rob Walter 10:47

    Environment:
    Warmer seas are fuelling the dangerous ‘weather bomb’ about to hit NSW 10:37

    National:
    Understanding the ‘Slopocene’: how the failures of AI can reveal its inner workings 10:27

    National:
    Sudan: foreign interests are deepening a devastating war – only regional diplomacy can stop them 10:17

    Law and Order:
    A 31-year-old man's been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in relation to a homicide investigation in South Auckland's Otahuhu 10:07

    Soccer:
    All Whites striker Ben Waine has completed a move from the south of England to the Midlands 10:07


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd