Bijou Phillips 'was really afraid she might not make it'
Actress Bijou Phillips "was really afraid she might not make it" when she was told she needed a second kidney transplant, according to her friend Kathy Hilton.
Bijou Phillips "was really afraid she might not make it" when she was told she needed a second kidney transplant.
The 45-year-old actress was born with underdeveloped kidneys and previously underwent a transplant in 2017 but complications led to her body rejecting the new kidney and she is now undergoing dialysis as she waits for another donor to be found, and her pal Kathy Hilton has now revealed Bijou was terrified when she was told about the setback.
Kathy told Us Weekly magazine: "She was really afraid, and she was crying. She was afraid if she did the dialysis that she might not make it."
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star - whose daughters Paris and Nicky are good friends with Bijou - revealed her husband Richard offered the actress some words of encouragement after she was given the scary health news and urged her to fight for the sake of her young daughter.
Kathy said: "[Richard] got her on the phone, [and] he said: 'Listen, you listen to the doctor … You have a young child'. She was like: 'You’re right, you’re right'."
Kathy went on to reveal Bijou is being supported by a big group of friends, including Paris and Nicky who have both been to the hospital in Los Angeles to visit her.
She added: "There are a lot of people that were there every minute with her ... [She has a] great group of friends."
Bijou previously underwent a kidney transplant after being gifted an organ by a "dear friend" but last month she appealed to find a living donor who can help.
In a post on Instagram, she wrote: "I need help finding a kidney. I'm asking as a friend, a sister, an aunt, and most important, a single mother to an incredible and brave daughter.
"I was born with underdeveloped kidneys and spent the first three months of life in the NICU on dialysis. In 2017, I received the incredible gift of a kidney from a dear friend.
"That transplant gave me 8 precious years to be a mother to my daughter—but I have had many complications since, including the BK virus which led to both a cellular and antibody rejection."
She went on to add: "I am currently under care of Dr Anjay Rastogi at UCLA and back on dialysis. Please help me find a living donor so that I can have more time with my daughter, family, friends. "Time is of the essence."
Bijou recently opened up about her crisis in an interview with Us Weekly, admitting she needs to live to support her daughter, whose dad is jailed actor Danny Masterson.
She told the publication: "Now I’m a single mom and things are different. I want to be here for her, and I have to be here for her. The fight is back. That had been gone for a long time. I’m it. I’m all she’s got."
