Days of Our Lives star Greg Vaughan is recovering from a health scare he experienced while on vacation with his sons in Colorado.
Vaughan, 50, went to an urgent care center after falling ill on the trip. He learned he was suffering from “severe altitude sickness,” which he says resulted in his lungs filling with fluid and his blood oxygen level dropping to 54 percent. For context, a healthy level is between 95 and 100 percent.
“Life is like a box of chocolates, ‘you never know whatcha gonna get!’” he wrote via Instagram on Thursday, March 14, alongside photos of himself in a hospital bed, appearing to receive oxygen.
Vaughan went on to explain what happened, and the details are harrowing. It began innocuously enough with fatigue and shortness of breath after climbing stairs. He also experienced some congestion, wheezing and a headache. After hydrating and taking some NyQuil, he thought he could power through it and tackle Breckenridge Mountain with his kids the next day.
That night, his condition worsened.
“it was a night of tossing, turning, no sleep, coughing, dry heaving & my head felt like it was in a walnut cracker,” he recounted via Instagram. “Disappointedly, morning arrived & I had to tell my boys, plus our friends who just arrived, I was staying home to rest & be my best for our final days to come!”
Instead, Vaughan’s health continued to decline as he began to fear losing yet another day of vacation with his children. After two days, he went to urgent care, where he was formally diagnosed with severe altitude sickness.
A few hours after his initial post, Vaughan added an update, showing a picture of his smart watch with a blood oxygen level of 94 percent.
“Well, 4hrs later, a couple of bags of IV & oxygen tank strapped to my face, I was told that I needed to immediately get off the mountain!” he wrote. “However I couldn’t, we still had another day to go & wanting the boys to enjoy their last day on the hill tops!”
Instead of going home, Vaughan says he checked out with an oxygen tank and “a good laugh for everyone.”
He closed his post with a warning to all those who venture into the Rockies: “In all seriousness, no matter your age, and all the times I’ve ⛷️ & 🏂 in my lifetime, Colorado Rockies is no joke! As they say, ‘take a breathe [sic] and smell the roses!’ That is truly something we need to remember & appreciate!”
One way to do that is to take your time acclimating to a higher altitude. The CDC recommends ascending gradually, avoiding alcohol in your first 48 hours at elevation and participating in only mild exercise at the start.
