The Challenge Star ‘Lucky to Be Alive’ After Health Scare & Hospitalization

Getty An Emery County ambulance leaves the Crandall Canyon coal mine August 16, 2007 near Huntington, Utah.

Nia Moore made her return to “The Challenge” on “All Stars 3,” which is currently airing right now on Paramount+, but she revealed that she had a major life-threatening health scare just a short while ago.

The “Real World: Portland” alum, 33, appeared on “Challenge Reality News” with Benny Adams, where she opened up about suffering a pulmonary embolism. “I was supposed to be filming a TV show right now, and unfortunately I was not able to do that because I could not get cleared medically,” she shared. Nia, who works as a corporate flight attendant, said:

Last week, I was hospitalized in Italy, and then again in Atlanta. I found out that I had a pulmonary embolism which is a blood clot of the lungs and it was something that could have been fatal.

Nia explained that the pulmonary embolism was a result of how much vaping she’d done over the last two years. “Most people don’t even know that I do it because I was a closeted vapor,” she spilled. “When I did ‘All Stars 3,’ I always had one in my hand because I had a lot of social anxiety.” Nia said since her hospitalization, she’s been on blood thinners and will continue to take them for 6 months.

Nia also revealed that she planned on discussing what happened in more detail on social media but she needed more time to process and collect her thoughts.

Follow the Heavy on The Challenge Facebook page for the latest breaking news, rumors and content!

Nia Went Into Detail About What Happened the Night of Her Hospitalization in Italy

In her interview, Nia said, “I knew in my gut that what I was doing to my body, I was gonna have to pay for at some point but I just was so arrogant and delusional in the aspect of, ‘well I probably got some years before this was going to come after me and collect.’… I was completely wrong, I almost potentially lost my life in Italy.” She went into detail about what happened:

It was really scary because it all started very quickly. I was sleeping and my body kept kind of jumping out of my sleep and I noticed that I was not breathing subconsciously, I had to deliberately take each breath… I tried to go to sleep again and my body jerked out of my slumber and something in my gut just said, ‘you need to get up.’

And so I grabbed my passport, because I felt like I was about to faint… I felt like someone was sitting on my right lung.

Nia explained that all of it went down in a short time, about 30 seconds, and she said she knew she had to leave the room because if she passed out in the room no one would know. She said she went to the hotel lobby without even putting on shoes and the symptoms were getting worse, with her face dropping. The reality star said she thought she was having a stroke or a heart attack. She continued:

I was terrified, I was holding my pilot’s hand in the ambulance the whole time on FaceTime with my parents telling them I loved them and I was sorry because I really genuinely thought this was it.

I texted my dog sitter and I said, ‘if I don’t make it back home please just take care of my girls.’

Nia became emotional as she shared, “I just remember thinking like ‘I literally might come back in the bottom of a plane.'” She said she’s thankful she was able to return home safely and had to be re-hospitalized upon her return to Atlanta, describing the situation as a “really scary thing.” She added, “I have quit cold turkey and I will never vape or smoke anything again.”

Nia Brought Up ‘Challenge’ Star Diem Brown, Who Died of Ovarian Cancer in 2014

Nia spoke about how the experience changed her life and shared that she thought about “Challenge” star Diem Brown, who died of ovarian cancer at age 34. Nia said, “She was my age, maybe 34, but this was a woman who treated her body like a temple and put nothing but fuel and love into it and ultimately it still worked against her… I just think it’s such a slap in the face for me to say that she is one of those personal heroes of mine and someone that I love dearly, then for me to continue to show a lack of self-worth as pertains to my own health.”

Nia said it was important for her to share her story because it felt like she was powerless to stop what was happening and she wanted it to be a wake-up call for others. She revealed that she was told by multiple doctors that based on what they found with her blood clots, she was “lucky to be alive.” She said she has “a new outlook on life and I just can’t wait to get in the best shape of my life. I want to find healthier habits and hobbies and get back to playing volleyball and do some boxing and hike more and go running and do things that aren’t always related to eating, drinking, and vaping.” She concluded:

Now that my cherry has been re-popped with All Stars 3, I absolutely want to do another Challenge. And I want to dominate, I want to show up prepared, I want to train for it, and even if I don’t get the call, I intend to live my life as if I am going to get the call because I want to be ready and I wanna go back and dominate should I go.

READ NEXT: CT Tamburello Hints at Going Head-to-Head With Johnny Bananas Devenanzio