Ty Pennington in ICU – just days after attending the premiere of new movie

Only days after walking the pink carpet at the LA premiere of Barbie, Ty Pennington was rushed to hospital for an extreme medical procedure.

It was a close call for the beloved handyman, who experienced a medical emergency while filming in Colorado, reminding him that he needs to listen to his body.

Last week, the handsome carpenter on Trading Spaces and host of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition appeared at the star-studded movie premiere and shared images on his Instagram.

Pennington looked dapper in his light gray suit that he paired with a matching brimmed hat and white collared shirt.

The 58-year-old talent was at the big Barbie event to promote HGTV’s Barbie’s Dreamhouse Challenge, which started its run on July 16. Swinging his bright pink sledgehammer, Pennington is a member of one of eight teams who are transforming a home into a real-life version of Barbie’s iconic pink mansion.

“Transported to the world of @barbiethemovie last night! Thanks,” the star of Rock the Block captioned his Instagram post.

“Looking very smart. Can’t wait to see this challenge,” writes one fan, while designer Grace Mitchell, Pennington’s co-star added a comment saying, “Ty! Looking so spiffy!”

The celebration turned into tragedy when only two days later, Pennington posted a gallery of photos, the first of him lying in a hospital bed. He explained to fans that he was recovering in ICU from a throat abscess that blocked his airway, which made breathing impossible.

He wrote, “From the red carpet, to the ICU…this last week has been interesting! I’m okay now, still recovering.” Diving deeper into what ailed him, Pennington continued that after he attended the premiere of Barbie on Sunday, he flew to Colorado to start filming on Monday. “Tuesday morning I woke up at 4am and could barely breathe. Turns out, that sore throat I’ve had for the last month was actually an abscess which had grown so large it was closing off my airway. Next thing I know, I was intubated and flown to the ICU in Denver. Wednesday I had surgery and yesterday afternoon I was released from the ICU…A great reminder to LISTEN to your body when it’s telling you something.”  

Fans poured in with loving thoughts: “Sweet and wonderful Ty I am shocked and sad that you were so (ill). I have been following you since the olden days watching you on Trading Spaces. So glad you are on the mend. Yes listen to your body and don’t take so long gentlemen to get to a doctor.”

Friends from Trading Spaces also chimed in. “Glad you’re not dead, you ol’ coot,” said Paige Davis, the show’s former host. Genevieve Gorder, who was known for some of the show’s most jaw-dropping designs, added, “Babes!!!! I’m so happy you are okay, how terrifying.”

Brian Kleinschmidt, developer and also a contestant on Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge added, “Here’s to a Speedo recovery! And no, that wasn’t a typo.”

Kleinschmidt was referring to an image of a scribbled note, written by Pennington when he was tripping out on medication: “Also, even through heavy sedatives it’s good to see I was still in the right frame of mind… (pic 4).” Pennington–whose sense of humor was not lost in the emergency–had written, “I need to put on my Speedo.”

Pennington appears to be out of hospital and recovering well.