On Jan. 25, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner announced that Kim Porter died from pneumonia and that her manner of death was certified as natural. Her tragic Nov. 15, 2018 passing at just 47-years-old came as a shock to her family, friends and fans. The lung condition is highly treatable, especially in someone as young as her with access to the best doctors and medical care. Dr. Reed Wilson tells HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY that, “The usual deaths we see from pneumonia are the elderly, the very young and those with chronic illness. But occasionally we see young healthy people die, unfortunately.”
“So how does this happen, there are a couple of ways. The pneumonia bug could leave the lung and get into the blood stream. This spreads the bug all over the body very quickly, this is called sepsis. Another way is if the pneumonia worsens and starts preventing the body from getting enough oxygen. The lungs are responsible for getting oxygen to the body and if they can’t various organs can start shutting down and sometimes quickly. There is probably a genetic component as well, with some people being more susceptible to some bacteria or viruses than others,” Dr. Reed continues.
“This is a long way of saying, if a young person happens to have some other condition that puts them at risk, the outcome could be devastating. If they happen to catch a bacteria they are particularly susceptible too that could also be problematic. Importantly, if they don’t go to the doctor and the pneumonia progresses, this could lead to sepsis or worsening pneumonia,” Dr. Reed explains.
Kim had reportedly been suffering from flu-like symptoms for several weeks before she was found dead in the bedroom of her Los Angeles area home. Diddy‘s former longtime partner and the father of their three children together later mourned her as “We were more than best friends, we were more than soulmates.” Dr. Reed tells us that “I have zero information about her actual medical history but (according to the reports) she could have had the pneumonia for weeks. This could have led her to develop the complications as outlined above. Is it common? No. After all she unfortunately made headline, because it is not very common.”