Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent is revealing that she had to rush her daughter, one-year-old Ocean, to the emergency room last week after the toddler began having trouble breathing.
Speaking on Wednesday’s Give them Lala podcast, Lala went into detail, explaining the terrifying ordeal that left her in “hysterics.”
After putting Ocean to bed at around 7 p.m. last week, Lala began to hear her daughter crying in an unusual way and immediately knew “something’s wrong.”
“So, I go in, and she is gasping for air like she cannot breathe,” the reality star explained. However, she thought it was a “good sign” that Ocean was screaming because it meant that she could still get air into her lungs.
Lala attempted to remedy and monitor the situation at home, taking measures such as using a steam shower and laying her on her chest, before ultimately coming to the conclusion that her daughter’s condition was serious and needed medical attention.
“I was watching her, I tried to lay down, I was steaming the shower, [and] while it was steaming, I put her on my chest, laid in the bed, and just the way she was sounding, you could tell she was having trouble breathing. Now I’m not f–king around,” the author said.
Lala and her mother, who was thankfully in town, rushed Ocean to Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, where the staff got her into a room “immediately” because they knew that she needed to quickly be seen.
Once in a doctor’s care, Ocean was diagnosed with croup, “an infection of the upper airway which obstructs breathing,” according to the Mayo Clinic. Lala said the child was given a steroid that instantly helped clear her airway.
Becoming emotional, Lala said talking about the terrifying incident leaves her in tears.
“When they’re infants, [it] is very very scary,” the Give them Lala author said.
“Even talking about it now,” she said, her voice becoming shaky, “it was like, ‘Oh my God this is so scary.’ Like I asked the nurse, ‘Is my baby going to wake up tomorrow? Because I’m freaking out.’”
“All I know is my baby woke up and was having a hard time breathing, I’m so sorry,” Lala said through tears.
Thankfully, Lala and Ocean were able to return home the very same night that the frightening incident occurred. Lala warned that parents should be aware of croup as it is something that “if you catch it quickly is very treatable.” Lala concluded that Ocean is happy and “all healthy” now.
Lala shares Ocean with her estranged ex-fiancé, movie producer Randall Emmett, who has yet to publicly comment on his daughter’s medical emergency.