Made In Chelsea favourite Sam Vanderpump has revealed he ‘nearly died’ after liver and kidney failure caused life-threatening sepsis.

Sam, 28, whose auntie Lisa Vanderpump, 64, starred in US series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and spin-off Vanderpump Rules, told MailOnline he’s lucky to be alive after being rushed to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in December with the flu only to discover the ‘terrifying’ truth behind his symptoms.

In an exclusive interview, Sam explained how his quick-thinking girlfriend Alice Yaxley, 23, phoned an ambulance after the reality star became ‘delirious’ having spent days in bed suffering from dehydration and severe back pain.

Sam, who was told by doctors if he was admitted to hospital 24 hours later it would have been too late, learned his liver and kidneys had stopped working and he needed urgent medical attention.

And as Sam’s body fought off the infection, he contracted sepsis, leaving his mother Simone and model girlfriend Alice fearing for his life.

Sam said: ‘I thought I was going to die. I didn’t think my body could cope and that was the scariest thing. It was terrifying.

Made In Chelsea favourite Sam Vanderpump has revealed he ‘nearly died’ after liver and kidney failure caused life-threatening sepsis 

Sam told MailOnline he’s lucky to be alive after being rushed to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in December with the flu only to discover the ‘terrifying’ truth behind his symptoms

Due to his liver failure, Sam developed jaundice, which saw the colour of his skin and whites of his eyes turn yellow

‘I remember the doctor saying to me that I was going into liver and kidney failure. I burst into tears. My mum didn’t react badly, you would expect her to be in complete meltdown, but she didn’t want to scare me.

‘The words they used for the function of my liver were ‘deranged’ and ‘demonic.’ You don’t feel your organs normally but when they stop working and because my liver and kidneys weren’t working my heart was in overdrive, my pancreas was struggling, my spleen wasn’t well… 

‘And you can feel all this pain and uncomfortableness, I was really, really fighting to keep myself alive. I didn’t think I was going to survive or see the outside of the hospital again. 

‘You never think the flu will lead to you being in a hospital bed and nearly dying. They told my mum that if I had got to hospital 24-48 hours later, I wouldn’t have made it. By calling the ambulance, my girlfriend literally saved my life.’ 

Sam, who was rushed to the Resuscitation Department, explained how doctors were shocked by his initial test results, which highlighted the severity of his condition.

He said: ‘There is a liver function test, when your liver is performing normally there is a protein called CRP (C-reactive protein), which releases protein into your blood to fight against infection.

‘When there’s no infection in your body you produce 0-5 milligrams because you don’t need it so when you have a mild infection, it will be around the 50 milligram mark and when it’s a bad infection and you need to seek urgent medical care it’s about 100 milligrams… but mine was up in the 400s.

‘My white cells, which are meant to be between 8-12 were double that. My liver enzymes, which are meant to be at 40, were at 140. They told me I was the sickest patient on the ward.’ 

Sam, who was rushed to the Resuscitation Department, explained how doctors were shocked by his initial test results, which highlighted the severity of his condition

The reality star had a catheter fitted because of being unable to pᴀss liquids which led to severe water retention and his stomach swelling to the size of a pregnant woman

Sam is the nephew of Lisa Vanderpump, who starred in US series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Vanderpump Rules 

He is grateful to model girlfriend Alice Yaxley (pictured) for saving his life by calling the ambulance at a crucial moment

It wasn’t just liver and kidney failure which caused Sam to be so unwell. 

He also contracted sepsis, which occurs when an infection triggers an extreme reaction in the body’s immune system. 

Sam said: ‘This all led to sepsis. Luckily, they worked overtime, monitoring me every single hour.

‘For the first 48 hours they struggled to get the infection under control. For the next seven days I was on two different types of antibiotics and one anti-fungal.’ 

As a result of his condition, Sam, famed for his appearances on E4 series Made In Chelsea, developed jaundice, causing his skin and whites of his eyes to turn yellow.

He also had a catheter fitted because of being unable to pᴀss liquids which led to severe water retention.

And Sam, who usually proudly flaunts a six pack and regularly posts topless pH๏τos on Instagram, says he was horrified after seeing his stomach swell to the size of a pregnant woman.

Sam said: ‘When your liver stops working, you get jaundice, so my eyes were yellow.

‘My kidneys stopped working so no liquids were leaving my body, which was the most painful experience of my life.

‘I had a catheter put up my willy, but I was gaining so much water weight. I normally have a six pack, but my stomach had swollen so much it looked like I was pregnant. It was so painful, so uncomfortable.’

‘I usually weigh 87kg but when I came out of hospital, I weighed 72kg, so I lost 15kg in eight days.

‘But when I was still in hospital, I was still weighing 80 kilos because I had 8 kilos of water weight in my belly and legs, my legs started to swell up as well. At one point they wanted to stick a needle in me to drain the water but luckily my kidneys started working.’

Sam, who joined Made In Chelsea last year, says he has enjoyed partying and drinking with his co-stars but after his recent ordeal his outlook on life has changed

Sam, pictured with Made In Chelsea co-star Freddie Knatchbull and Love Island: All Stars contestant Tina Stinnes, says he will share his experiences on the upcoming series

In the upcoming show, he aims to raise awareness of liver and kidney disease and how to spot the early signs of sepsis

Sam explained how his near-death experience was caused by multiple factors.

The business owner says he was born with liver and kidney disease which has laid dormant his entire life. 

Growing up, Sam had biannual checkups at Great Ormond Street Hospital from the ages of 4-16 and is now looked after by King’s College Hospital. 

But falling ill with the flu coupled with suffering from asthma triggered a serious infection that Sam’s immune system struggled to cope with.

He said: ‘I’ve had liver and kidney disease which has essentially been dormant for the past 28 years.

‘I have checkups every six months and have been told I am healthy, and my liver function is good, and I should live my life normally. They are 75 per cent sure it was having the flu, which made my immune system weak, the disease, which also weakened my system and everything happening at the same time.’

Sam is the youngest son of Mark and Simone Vanderpump, with one older brother named Jack.

Mark, who was Lisa Vanderpump’s older brother and a businessman and DJ, sadly died in 2018 aged 59.

An inquest into his death ruled it as suicide, with drug toxicity determined as the cause of death. 

After joining the cast of Made In Chelsea last year, Sam admits he has enjoyed partying and drinking with his co-stars but his recent ordeal has changed his outlook on life. 

In the upcoming series, he aims to raise awareness of liver and kidney disease and how to spot the early signs of sepsis, which kills more people in the UK than lung cancer, breast cancer, and bowel cancer combined. 

He said: ‘By Christmas Eve, I was discharged, which they didn’t want to do but they believed it was safer for me to fight the rest of the infection at home because there were so many Covid cases at the hospital. It’s crazy that everything has turned around in a month.

‘I’m going to talk about my experience on Made In Chelsea. I told the producers I will be talking about my health issues in this series and how I can help NHS charities.

‘This has given me a new outlook on life. In the past I have used my free time to party and drink and be crazy but now I am going to use my free time very differently. I am currently planning a charity event with Made In Chelsea, which will be featured on the show.’