The former partner of Emily Willis has admitted her condition was 'bad' after she was left permanently disabled following a serious cardiac arrest last year.
Willis, real name Litzy Lara Banuelos, had been referred to the rehab centre Malibu Summit in January 2024 for drug addiction treatment, with her condition worsening while there.
The emergency services were called on 3 February, as she was suffering from hot and cold chills, tremors, increased heart rate, headaches, feeling 'disorientated' and difficulty walking.
However, Willis was not taken to hospital, and the following day she was found unconscious by rehab centre staff, with it taking between 30 and 40 minutes for paramedics to restore her heartbeat.
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During this time, she suffered 'irreversible' brain damage, and when she woke up, she was in a 'vegetative state' where she was fully conscious but could neither move nor speak, which correlates to 'locked-in syndrome'.
Her ex-partner, Mike Majlak, told Steve-O's Wild Ride podcast last year about her condition, saying the two of them were 'very close' and praising Willis as a person.
He said: "It's bad, actually. She was incredible.
"We had a really great friendship and relationship, but she had her own struggles, and she recently, while at rehab, fell into a coma, and she's been in a vegetative state."
Willis' legal team recently provided an update on her condition to The Mirror US, saying that the 26-year-old 'remains bedridden due to her neurological injuries'.
A diagnosis is not confirmed, though her lawyer, James A. Morris Jr, said that locked-in syndrome was a possibility, and he said she would be permanently paralysed by the damage she has suffered.
He is representing Willis' mother, Yesenia Cooper, as she is suing the rehab centre for 'abuse of a dependent adult, professional negligence, negligence and fraudulent business practices'.
The lawyer said: "They should've transferred her to a hospital earlier and let the doctors put a feeding tube in her and treat her properly while she was still (coherent) and speaking and walking.
"Instead, they allowed her to have a say in her medical treatment, which is not what you do with somebody who is in severe health danger. She was in a very brittle place."
The rehab centre claimed they couldn't take Willis to the hospital without her consent.
Court documents say: "It is undisputed that during her stay, (Willis) had refused to follow medical recommendations and take her medications. She refused to go to urgent care or the hospital voluntarily, despite being encouraged to do so by (Summit Malibu)."
Topics: Emily Willis, Health, Celebrity News
Joe Harker