Billy Porter Recalls Near-Fatal Medical Crisis "I Was Dead for Three Days"

Billy Porter reveals he was on life support and "dead for three days" during a 2025 battle with urosepsis that nearly cost him his leg.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 6, 2026, 4:14 AM EST

Source: Page Six

A Routine Checkup Gone Wrong

The emergency began in September 2025 when Porter checked into a hospital on a Tuesday evening due to intense pain from a kidney stone. What was intended as a "routine check" to remove the stone from his urethra quickly spiraled into a medical catastrophe. Surgeons discovered an massive build-up of infection behind the stone, and Porter went into "urosepsis"—a life-threatening response to a urinary tract infection—within minutes.

Life Support and "Proof of Life"

Porter revealed that he was clinically "dead for three days" while hooked up to an ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) machine, a sophisticated form of life support that pumps and oxygenates a patient's blood outside the body. He remained unconscious until Saturday night.

"I was on the ECMO machine... I was dead for three days. I am a miracle. I'm a walking miracle." — Billy Porter on Outlaws with TS Madison

The Battle to Save His Leg