Barbara Walters Hospitalized With Chickenpox
Barbara Walters has been hospitalized with the chicken pox. Her co-stars revealed Walters' latest health calamity on their show "The View" earlier this morning.
"She's been told to rest. She's not allowed any visitors," Whoopi Goldberg said. "And we're telling you, Barbara, no scratching!"
The 83-year-old Walters fell and hit her head last week at a pre-inaugural party; she was hospitalized after hitting her head and cutting it open. Walters was taken to the hospital for treatment and kept by doctors.
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"Out of an abundance of caution, she went to the hospital to have her cut tended to, have a full examination, and remains there for observation. Barbara is alert and telling everyone what to do, which we all take as a very positive sign," ABC News Senior Vice President Jeffrew W. Schneider told Yahoo! News.
Everyone has been keeping a close eye on Walters' health, especially her colleagues at "The View." Walters was due to be released last Tuesday but was kept because of a persistent fever. Now Walters has been diagnosed with chicken pox, which she has never had. She is currently a patient at a New York hospital, though it's unknown which one is treating the high-profile star.
Chicken pox is normally non-threatening, but given Walters' advanced age, there could be complications such as bacterial infection, which could lead to pneumonia or other diseases. The chicken pox virus can also cause shingles, which affects the nervous system and affects nearly 20 percent of people during their lives, according to chickenpoxsymptoms.info.
Walters' immune system could still be somewhat impaired from heart surgery in 2010, putting her at greater risk for chicken pox. Now the reporter and host has a new focus: healing.
"We love you, we miss you," Goldberg said. "We just don't want to hug you."
It's not clear when Walters will be released from the hospital, but even after that, she will still require a great deal of rest before returning to her hosting duties on "The View."
