Christina Applegate has been admitted to the hospital battling a kidney infection that has ominously spread to encompass both of her kidneys, plunging her into such excruciating agony that she described herself as "screaming in pain." The 53-year-old veteran of "Married... With Children" found herself recording an episode of her podcast, "MeSsy," co-hosted with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, from an L.A. hospital bed amidst the throes of severe discomfort, likening the sensation to her appendix ready to rupture.
Through her representative, Applegate issued a statement to PEOPLE on Tuesday afternoon, stating, "I'm home now and have undergone treatment for the kidney infection. As for my ongoing stomach issues, they're still a work in progress. I spent seven days in the hospital."
While visiting family in Europe, Applegate began to feel unwell. On her return flight, foreseeing the possibility of a middle-of-the-night emergency room dash, she opted to proceed straight to the hospital. "I want to be admitted," she told Sigler, expressing her frustration with the challenges she has faced during her battle with multiple sclerosis. "I'm staying put because I demand answers. I want every conceivable test run, even the ones you haven't thought of, and I want them done now."
The following day, she awoke to excruciating pain radiating from her right side. "My brain immediately thought, 'Oh, my appendix is bursting,'" Applegate recounted. The discomfort shot through her, from her back to her front, leaving her in sheer agony. "The pain was unbearable. I was screaming, prompting them to order an emergency CT scan at 2 a.m.," she explained, noting that the scan revealed a kidney infection that had since invaded her left kidney as well.
"I'll be here for a while," she remarked about her hospital stay, elaborating, "Due to this kidney infection, I'm currently on intravenous antibiotics. That's where we stand."
The actress from "Dead to Me" shared that doctors initially suspected a urinary tract infection and questioned her wiping technique. "What, am I wiping backwards? Seriously, I'm 53," she said, recounting a prior hospital visit where she was inquired about wiping from front to back, as doctors recommend. Applegate asserted that she had "the cleanest vagina... I'm a fastidious person down there."
Amidst her attempts at humor, Applegate confessed, "I'm holding back tears right now." She added, "Sometimes, I just break down in the nurse's arms, sobbing uncontrollably."
