Ty Pennington Says He 'Lives Life to the Fullest' 3 Years After Medical Emergency: 'It Was an Eye-Opener'

Ty Pennington, who recovered fully from a severe medical emergency in July 2023, when he underwent surgery for a massive throat abscess that nearly closed off his airway, knows life is precious.

"Who knew that you could almost die from something like an abscess? But you know what's amazing about that? Is, one, how real that was, and how, in a world we live in now, you can get contacted by so many different people, and they're like, 'Oh my God, my brother passed away from that.' It's just crazy that you can get an infection in the back of your throat like that. The fact that I woke up in the morning, and I could hear my throat whistling. I was like, 'Oh my God, I'm going to die,'" the TV star, 61, who has partnered with Insmed as a spokesperson for the Suspect BE initiative, exclusively told OK! while speaking about World Lung Day, which is on September 25, and Healthy Lung Month in October.

"And so I went to this doctor, and he's like — because I was about to shoot Battle on the Mountain up in Colorado — and I said, 'Hey, can you give me, like, a Benadryl or something? I think I've got some type of allergy going on.' He goes, 'What if it's not that?' And I go, 'What do you mean?' He goes, 'What if it's something else?' I go, 'I don't know.' So then I'm like, 'Can you just give me this? I've got to go to work today.' And he's like, 'Well, maybe I can't.' So they put a camera in. The doctor said if he made an incision, all the arteries that keep you alive are right there. So I was like, 'Oh my God.' So yeah, what I thought was going to be one day turned into a big deal."

Fortunately, the HGTV star was able to see the positive amid the harrowing ordeal.

"Here's the good news. If you really feel low and you don't have enough attention in your life, almost dying is incredible for the amount of love you get. But yes, it was an eye-opener. It makes you realize just how precious life is and how important breathing really is. And it makes me also understand what my mom sort of deals with daily. We take breathing for granted, but when you have a condition like bronchiectasis, you think about that every day," he said.

Following that pivotal moment, Pennington "thought about everything," even getting his "affairs in order."

"And it also makes you realize you've got to live life to the fullest. You just never know when they're going to pull your card. You just don't know what's around the corner, and I think that's also why it's so important to get the right diagnosis, because you want to know what you're dealing with, especially when you start numbering how many years you have. You want to know, like, 'Okay, I can do this while I still can.' So yeah, it's very important. Life, it's the best, especially when you have a lot of humor in it, which is the way I like to live, obviously," he shared.

These days, the TV personality is back at work and has "several shows coming up."

"I'm very lucky. I'm still working. I've been in this business for God knows how long. I think before you were born. But yeah, the fact that I'm still in it, and I love design. I love being able to mentor new creatives as well, and being on shows like Rock the Block and Battle on the Beach. I have a few new exciting things happening. So yeah, I'm loving it," he gushed.

Pennington's health scare put things into perspective since he's now living with his mom, who struggled with unresolved respiratory symptoms for decades before she finally received a diagnosis of bronchiectasis, a chronic lung disease that can get worse over time and lead to lung damage.

The experience not only impacted his entire family but inspired him to help others who may still be searching for answers. As part of this awareness effort, Pennington has partnered with Insmed as a spokesperson for the Suspect BE initiative.

"My mom has had respiratory issues for as long as I can remember. In fact, I think her nickname in the family was 'Wheezing Buffalo' just because she was always wheezing, which is really unfortunate. But she's also the funniest person in the family. This is a single mom raising two boys, who put herself through school and worked nights. So this is a really strong woman, and to see her sort of taken down by these respiratory issues — we're talking about a constant cough, you know, excess mucus, these lung infections that just kept coming, that wouldn't go away. I think the soundtrack to my family's life was literally the sound of mucus," he recalled.

"But the reason I teamed up with Insmed, and we're doing this campaign called Suspect BE — and BE is short for bronchiectasis, because it's a very tough word to say — is to make sure that we get the word out, giving you information about what bronchiectasis is, and it also connects other people sharing their stories because there are a lot of other families just like mine that have somebody dealing with these same types of symptoms. The thing about my mom is she has battled these issues her whole life — well, my whole life anyway. But then 20 years ago, she was finally diagnosed with bronchiectasis, which can seem like Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma, but it actually can end up causing lung damage," he said.

He added, "So sometimes you have to take a deeper look because it may seem like one thing, but it could actually be something else or all three. So, you know, my advice is, if you have a loved one with symptoms of constant cough, excess mucus, recurring lung infections, they don't seem to go away, something seems off, then see a pulmonologist, get a CT scan, find out what's really going on. Take a deeper look."

Now that he's with his mom 24/7, he feels like their closer than ever. "I never thought of myself as becoming a caregiver; I couldn't even keep a plant alive. I was working so much in TV. But now I wouldn't trade it for anything. I think those times we have with our loved ones, especially our creators, especially when they have a sense of humor like my mom, are priceless," he shared. "I'm notorious for building houses and sort of making people's lives better. And then, you know, the guilt of not being there for my mom, knowing that for years she had sort of been struggling with all these conditions. I built a house, and I finally brought her down, and I think she was just so much happier once we were in the same home. Now, like many other caregivers who are taking care of their parents, I make sure she's got a child monitor in her room, which is — talk about a role reversal. But I can hear all the noises, which is great for a relationship, for you to hear the noises coming out of your mom's room, by the way."

Pennington wants to spread the word since there are a lot of people who go through life with these conditions — and they don't know what they are.

"And I think it's so important to understand what you're dealing with, and that's why, with SuspectBE.com, we're really encouraging people to take that deeper look and find out what's really going on. I look at it like this: With houses, if you're renovating something, if there's something wrong with it, you don't just paint over it. You look behind the walls, you check the foundations, you take a deeper look. And I think with a lung, you have to do the same thing. You've got to talk to an expert, and you've got to find out what's really, really going on. So that's what SuspectBE.com is all about," he stated.

He concluded, "I would just say, what I love about this campaign is it's not just about urging people to seek treatment and get diagnosed. It's also about people sharing their stories, and I think that's what life is. It's like we've all been through things. We all have loved ones who've been through things. But I think it's through connecting and realizing that we're not alone in this that you have hope, because you realize you're not alone. That there are answers to questions that you didn't think there were, and I think we all want to live the best life we can, and sometimes hearing other people's stories — you know, sometimes there's humor in it, and sometimes there's sadness — but there are stories, and that's what life is all about."