Ty Pennington is counting his blessings after experiencing a health scare last year.
Pennington, 59, said he’s doing “great” now after having surgery to remove an abscess from the back of his throat last summer.
“You know what’s great is if you almost die, you get so much attention. It feels so nice to be that loved,” he quipped during a Monday, March 4, interview with Entertainment Tonight. “I’m planning another one. … No, I’m kidding!
The HGTV personality recalled waking up early one morning in July 2023 and realizing that he couldn’t breathe. He drove to the hospital, hoping for steroids to reduce the swelling in his throat.
“[The doctor] goes, ‘Well, what if it’s more than that? What if you close up and you can’t breathe?’” Pennington recounted. “He goes, ‘Yeah, I think we need to fly you to Denver.’ It was, like, very dramatic. And I woke up and I had a tube in my throat.”
Pennington shared photos of himself in the hospital via Instagram in July 2023, noting that his surgery took place two days after he attended the Los Angeles premiere of Barbie.
“From the red carpet, to the ICU … this last week has been interesting,” he wrote in the caption. “Turns out, that sore throat I’ve had for the last month was actually an abscess which had grown so large it was closing off my airway. … A great reminder to LISTEN to your body when it’s telling you something 😳😅 #justhappytobehere.”
Pennington told ET on Monday that the harrowing experience “absolutely” changed his perspective on life.
“It made me realize you just don’t know when your timecard’s gonna get pulled, so wake up, live every single day to the fullest,” he said. “I mean, that’s why the 60s is gonna be, like, time to start doing everything.”
Pennington added that the revelation enhanced his appreciation for projects like the HGTV show Rock the Block, which he began hosting in 2021.
“I think we all want to make sure we’ve done things to be remembered,” he said of the competition series, in which HGTV renovation stars face off against each other trying to add the most value to identical properties. “I think this season could be the greatest season ever because there’s so much at stake because this is about pride and saying, ‘I am a winner.’ And when you’ve got four teams that are trying to prove themselves, there is nothing they’re gonna hold back, and that’s the kind of design, that’s the kind of passion I love to see.”
In addition to feeling fulfilled at work, Pennington is grateful for love in his personal life. Last month, he wished wife Kellee Merrell, whom he wed in 2021, a happy Valentine’s Day via Instagram.
“Happy love day to the only person I’d ever go to Disney for ❤️😆🙌🏼,” he captioned a photo of the pair screaming on a roller coaster.
Rock the Block airs on HGTV Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.
