Jordan Brook of ITV’s “The Only Way Is Essex” (TOWIE) reality series shared a heartbreaking update on his hospitalization after being admitted one week ago. In a new video shared on his Instagram on Saturday, March 21, Brook explained that he has been diagnosed with viral meningitis and encephalitis.
The 31-year-old said that the swelling in his brain “is getting worse” as he receives 24/7 care and monitorization for seizures, which was initially why he was admitted to the hospital on March 15, the Daily Mail reported.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, viral meningitis is “an inflammation of your meninges (area around your brain and spinal cord) caused by a virus,” while encephalitis is “brain inflammation” and can be “life-threatening or cause long-term complications.”
From his hospital bed, Brook recorded a gut-wrenching video to share what’s been going with his life-threatening infections.
Jordan Brook Says Brain Swelling ‘Is Getting Worse’
“This is the first time I’ve really been able to speak strong enough about what’s going on. There’s been a lot of speculation as to why I’m here and what’s going on, and there’s a few comments and people saying things, but this is my diagnosis that I got yesterday,” he said.
“I’ve been diagnosed with not one, but two viruses that are attacking similar parts of my body. I’ve got viral meningitis and encephalitis together. That’s the inflammation of the brain and the lining around it. So this isn’t something small or minor,” he continued. “I’ve had CT scans, MRI scans, lumbar punctures. We’ve got round-the-clock care since I’ve been in this hospital. I’m on IV drips, everything, antiviral, pain management, physio, seizure monitoring, as I have minor seizure risk at the minute.”
“But unfortunately, the swelling on my brain is getting worse with it’s really, really tough; even the simple day-to-day activities and normal things aren’t easy right now,” he added.
Brook went on to emphasize the severity of his condition by saying it is not to be joked about or overlooked.
“This isn’t like a joke, or people are writing that I’m a lot worse than I am, and there’s big C words being dropped and things like that. It isn’t that, but the swelling on my brain is really bad — pumped to my meds, my steroids, to try and get the swelling down,” he said. “I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be.”
From his hospital bed, the reality TV star then looked over at his pregnant girlfriend Sophie Kasaei, who also starred on “TOWIE.”
Jordan Brook Focused on Going Home to Pregnant Girlfriend
“My focus right now is simple. I need to get healthy,” he said. “My Soph has been amazing, and she’s growing my precious baby boy. I just want to be a young, healthy dad, home for my family, with my baby; that’s the goal.”
Brook went on to say that what he has been diagnosed with “won’t beat me,” adding, “I will get out of this.”
Brook reiterated in the caption of his video that his main focus is to become healthy again to live a long, happy life with Kasaei and their child, adding, “Life can throw curveballs when you least expect it.”
