Bijou Phillips, the estranged spouse of actor Danny Masterson, has spoken about a severe health crisis and says her condition has become life-threatening.
Phillips, 45, was previously married to the That ’70s Showactor, but later filed for divorce after he was convicted of rape and sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.
In her first interview in around a decade, Phillips described her ongoing kidney failure and said the situation is so precarious that she fears she could be “gone in a few days,” after spending the past year on a transplant waiting list.
“I’m sort of hanging on by a thread,” she told Us Weekly.
Phillips has dealt with serious kidney issues since birth, explaining she was born with underdeveloped kidneys. She underwent dialysis during her first months of life and was left with reduced kidney function afterwards.
By the time she was 36, her condition had worsened to the point that she needed a transplant. A friend, actor and editor Chris Wadhams, donated one of his kidneys.
But after the 2017 transplant, Phillips later shared an update online on February 11 saying she had been hospitalized and had returned to dialysis, adding that “time is of the essence” after her body rejected the donated kidney.
She again emphasized how quickly her health could deteriorate, explaining that an infection could be fatal within days.
“I’ve been immunosuppressed for so long… I could make it on dialysis for a couple of years, or I could get an infection in my line tomorrow and be gone in a few days,” she said. “I’m really hopeful, [but] it’s an extremely urgent situation.”
Looking back on why she decided to post publicly, Phillips said she was frightened to speak openly, but felt pushed by loved ones to act.
“To put my health out there publicly was terrifying, but my friends and family got fed up with me. They took control and were like, ‘We’re doing this.”
She added that she has needed another transplant for a year and described herself as being in a fragile state.
“The medication you take when you’re transplanted is very toxic to kidneys. So when you get a transplant — heart or liver or kidney — within a decade, you’re probably going to need a kidney transplant. My dad needed to get on dialysis after his liver transplant, [and] he got an infection in his line and was dead within three days because his immune system was so weak. So for me, getting on dialysis at UCLA was terrifying.”
Dentailing how intense dialysis can be, Phillips explained the treatment is used to remove waste, toxins, and extra fluid from the blood when the kidneys can no longer do so on their own.
She said the process can send her heart rate as high as 190, and that a chest catheter also makes something as basic as showering unworkable.
Even so, Phillips said she was “feeling pretty good” after learning her brother, Aron Wilson, cannot donate directly because he is not a match.
“He’s maybe going to be able to get into the kidney exchange, but they’re not sure. They’ve already denied him once, so he’s gonna try again,” she said.
A kidney exchange would involve Wilson donating to someone he matches, which could help move Phillips higher on the list and improve her chances of receiving a compatible kidney.
“I have antibodies [that make kidney rejection more likely], so it makes it complicated,” she explained.
Phillips also said she is determined to keep fighting for her daughter.
“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,” she said.
Phillips shares daughter Fianna with her ex-husband, and she described her child as “the strongest little human.”
“She’s really wise, and I’m just so proud to be her mother. She takes things that are really hard in life and handles them in this really classy way. I don’t deserve such an amazing human in my life. It’s magical.”
She also said faith has become a source of comfort, telling the publication she has been praying to help her cope through the hardest moments.