Getting sick or hospitalized is no joke.
Even celebrities had to deal with major illnesses or medical scares that led them to slow down, worse cancel their shows, or even take a complete break from show business to focus on their recovery.
Take for example former 'Dading' star Gardo Versoza, who made headlines last March 2023 when he suffered a heart attack.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute says that a heart attack, also known as a myocardial infarction, happens when the flow of blood that brings oxygen to a part of your heart muscle suddenly becomes blocked and your heart can't get enough oxygen.
It added that if blood flow is not restored quickly, the heart muscle will begin to die.
In his exclusive chat in 'Fast Talk with Boy Abunda' (FTWBA) after his hospitalization, Gardo admitted to Tito Boy that he already surrendered everything to God.
He explained, “Ganun pala 'yung feeling na parang akala ko before nakakanerbyos. Pero come to think of it, parang bibigay mo na lahat kay Lord e."
"'Yung nga 'yung pinagdasal ko na, 'If ever man na this is my time, Kayo na pong bahala dun sa mag-ina.'"
Check out the other showbiz personalities or their family members who were hospitalized this year and learn from their experience on how to better take care of your health.
Many of his showbiz colleagues were worried over the condition of Gardo Versoza after it was confirmed that he suffered a heart attack on March 28, 2023.
After being discharged from the Cardinal Santos Memorial Medical Center, his wife Ivy Vicencio revealed that Gardo still has to undergo another angioplasty procedure.
"Medyo okay na po siya kaya pinayagan muna siya ng kanyang mga doktor na makauwi.”
"'Yung second angioplasty niya, naka-schedule two to three months from now. Hindi napagsabay ang angioplasty dahil may heart attack na nangyayari."
Gardo has a son with Ivy named Deity Uziel.
Gardo wanted to inform everyone during his interview with Boy Abunda in June 2023 of the importance of getting regular checkups after his recent medical scare.
“Sabi nga ni Ivy, 'yung asawa ko, hindi kasi ako nagpapa-check regularly. So 'yun 'yung kasalanan ko.
"Feeling ko parang in a way baka rin ginamit akong instrumento ng Panginoon na kumbaga mai-share sa iba na 'wag n'yong balewalain kasi hindi biro 'yun."
Imagine having the best birthday celebration and you are in the midst of preparing for a big beauty pageant, and then, all of a sudden you find yourself inside a hospital.
This is what happened to Sparkle actress Michelle Dee in April 2023, when after sharing some highlights of her 28th birthday party, she then uploaded a photo of herself lying in a hospital bed.
The reigning Miss Universe Philippines 2023 disclosed in an interview with '24 Oras' that she needed an emergency operation due to the polyps found in her uterine lining.
“They found that my uterine lining was filled with polyps na super dami daw so they have to remove it and cauterize it,” Michelle explained.
Based on the information on healthline.com, polyps are tissue growths that most often look like small, flat bumps or tiny mushroom-like stalks. Most polyps are small and less than half an inch wide.
Uterine and colon polyps are common and it added that most polyps are benign, meaning they're noncancerous.
TV host Robi Domingo is a pillar of strength to his lovely fiancée Maiqui Pineda, who is going through rough times after sharing to the public that she got diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease.
The couple got engaged last November 2022, when they visited Japan.
Maiqui posted on her Instagram page that she got diagnosed with dermatomyositis, which can cause inflammation, muscle weakness, and skin rash.
She wrote in her post last August, “I already started treatment but the journey to recovery is far from over. There are good days but there are still bad days. I am hopeful that this is just temporary and I will work on getting better one day at a time.
“Thank you to everyone who sent prayers and messages of love and support! It meant a lot to me.”
Actress-vlogger Marjorie Barretto had a pretty rough experience at the end of August after informing everyone that she was hospitalized.
She shared her realization about what happened on Instagram saying, “Just as I thought August was about to end quietly, I had to spend the last week of the month in fear and found myself asking myself so many why's… Health is truly wealth. Nothing else matters more than that. Feeling bad I terrified my kids for a while.”
The celebrity mom added that her medical scare serves as a wake-up call to her about living a healthier lifestyle from now on.
“But I'm good now, much better, not 100 percent yet but definitely a wake up call for all of us in the family. Maybe a healthier lifestyle, lots of stress I need to dump ( that's what my Doctor advised) I need to surrender to God's will and lots of prayers that this doesn't happen to me again.Just thought of sharing coz you know how there are so many parts of our lives we don't get to share on Instagram.”
'The Missing Husband' star Nadine Samonte was alarmed after her youngest child Titus was suffering from vomiting and diarrhea in July 2023. This eventually caused Titus to get dehydrated.
Nadine posted, “Pang 4th tusok tska nasweruhan kasi nga dehydrated na hay can you imagine ung awa ko kay Titus. (Pwede bang ako nalang ang tusukan? 🥺) praying for a positive result na. Pls pray for my boy and to all the kids out there na may sakit im praying for you too. We will survive this. 🙏🏻 Lord heal all the sick people pls🙏🏻 (on the positive side yes nagagawa pa nya mag smile and madaldal pa din😬)”
In a separate post, Mommy Nadine informed her Instagram followers that their pedia eventually found out the cause of Titus' unusual sickness.
The 'StarStruck' Avenger explained, “Meron siyang yeast and fungal sa tummy niya kaya ganun pero grabe 'yung effect kay Titus.
“I just wanna say thank you so much to our Pedia Dra. Rizalina Gonzalez for always always taking care of my kids and kahit sa amin noon magkakapatid (siya din kasi pedia namin).
“You went out of your way talaga to help me with everything and bihira sa doctor yun. For sure lahat ng nakakakilala kay Dra alm nila na ganun sya.”
'Unang Hirit' host Mariz Umali revealed in her post on Instagram last August 17 that she will be undergoing an operation, the first one in her entire life.
On her third day of post-recovery, Mariz provided some details about her operation, which she hinted involved her stomach.
She also shared some of her doctor's advice to speed up her recovery process. “I'm feeling much better now of course, mero'n pa rin konting pain and discomfort na nararamdaman, pero tolerable naman. At ang sabi sa akin ng doktor ko e, tumayo, maglakad-lakad at huwag ibi-baby 'yung aking tahi.”
“ Maglakad-lakad para mag-flow 'yung blood, tapos, mag-beat faster 'yung heart. Tsaka, para maiwasan din magdikit-dikit 'yung mga organs dito sa aking tiyan, kasi may possibility na mangyari 'yun.”
On August 24, Mariz announced on her Instagram again that she was finally out of the hospital. The GMA Integrated News anchor then thanked everyone who took care of her saying, “Discharged napo ako! Maraming maraming salamat po sa lahat ng nagdasal for my safe and successful operation. Please continue to pray for my complete healing. I will continue to recover at home!”
“Thank you Dr. Joan Tan-Garcia for your gentle hands, to all my doctors, nurses and staff, you've been very caring. Thank you papa and mommy, moi, lei, miguel, kawhi, don, joyce, pia, mara and of course @raffytima.”
Sparkle host-actress Camille Prats shared on Instagram last November 14 that she needed to undergo surgery because of a ganglion cyst on her left foot.
My.clevelandclinic. org defines ganglion cyst as a small, fluid-filled lump just below the skin. Ganglia usually form close to a joint. Most ganglion cysts are on the wrist, finger or foot.
The Kapuso star admitted that recovering from her minor surgery was a bit challenging. She added that for a month she couldn't even work out.
Camille said, “I had a minor surgery on my left foot. Had a ganglion cyst removed coz its been growing and bothering me whenever I wear rubber shoes for workout. Recovery took more than expected, doc said 10 days but the wound wasn't healing as fast as I'd hoped. This meant no workout for a month for me.”
The celebrity mom continued, “For a time, I felt frustrated for not being able to do my usual routine. I also know that the lack of workout for a long period of time means muscles will weaken and it will be very challenging to start all over again.
“A month of recovery and I finally got to workout again.. what can I say… it's soooo hard!!! I almost always want to stop, but then I realized, I have to keep going and get over the hard part for me to get stronger and do it again the next day. I was reminded once again what discipline is all about; doing it even when you don't feel like it.”