Vicki Gunvalson talks about health scares that she believes caused amnesia

Vicki Gunvalson opens up after a recent serious health scare.

On Monday, August 26, Real Housewives of Orange County star, 62, and her partner Michael Smith joined My friend, my soulmate, my podcastwhere she described her experiences in and outside of the hospital.

The founder and CEO of Coto Insurance said she was with a client last Thursday, August 22, when she started “talking gibberish.”

The person happened to be a retired doctor who alerted Smith's daughter Olivia, who works at the practice, that Gunvalson “may have had a stroke.”

“I don’t remember anything and [Olivia] took me to the hospital,” Gunvalson said.

Gunvalson said doctors at the hospital told her her symptoms were just a sinus infection and sent her home that evening.

Smith was in Scottdale, Arizona at the time and Olivia called him and told him to come home.

When he took the first flight back home, Smith found Gunvalson “pretty much unconscious” in a bathtub. He described it as “one of the scariest” moments he had ever experienced.

“I grabbed her, pulled her out of the water and put her in bed. The doctor said she just needed to sleep, so I put her in bed and she literally slept for 13, 14 hours straight,” he recalled.

When he tried to get her out of bed, Smith said Gunvalson seemed “confused” and couldn't walk, so he took her back to the hospital.

“She had a massive infection… actually it was sepsis, but it was pneumonia,” Smith said. “The way she [the doctors] explained that when your body is fighting an infection that big… your whole body is attacking it, which affects the brain and everything else in your body because your body is sending everything it has to fight it.”

“It was dangerous. It was scary,” Smith added.

“I don't remember much and that's the trauma to the brain,” Gunvalson explained. “It's very similar to a stroke or post-traumatic stress disorder where the brain just goes into sleep mode and just doesn't remember to protect you.”

Gunvalson said she is “doing well” now, but her energy levels are “super low” during her recovery. The reality TV star also praised the “incredible” Smith for “giving me my medication because I can't remember when I take it,” as well as his daughter Olivia's help.

“I sleep enough – probably too much, but I don't have the energy to run at the moment. But it's very similar, it's similar to a stroke and I just have three days without sleep,” said the RHOC Star added.

PEOPLE has reached out to Gunvalson's rep for an update on her condition.

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On Monday, Gunvalsons RHOC Co-star Shannon Beador sent her congratulations via social media.

“I love you, my girlfriend! ❤️ You are one of the strongest women I know and you will get stronger every day!” she wrote under an Instagram photo of the two smiling together for a selfie.

“Nothing can knock you down! You are always in my prayers! I love you my Aries amiga!!! 🥰🥰🥰,” she concluded.