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Mauricio Umansky has been very open about his health this year, following a February ski accident which left him with a broken clavicle. But some people might not know that Kyle Richards’ estranged husband suffered from a rare disease, neutropenia, as a young child.
Kyle had previously opened up about Mauricio’s childhood health journey during The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 10, Episode 10, when she hosted a charity event and auction to support Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. “When Mauricio was born, he had a blood disease called neutropenia,” she revealed.
“And he spent a good part of his life in Children’s Hospital,” she continued. “So when we think about where we want to put our energy and our appreciation into, it’s Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.”
What is neutropenia?
Neutropenia, according to the Mayo Clinic, is a disease that occurs when “the body has too few neutrophils, a type of white blood cells.” This is important because “all white blood cells help the body fight infections. But neutrophils are important for fighting certain infections, especially those caused by bacteria.”
Mauricio Umansky opens up about his battle with neutropenia
Mauricio put his childhood struggle with neutropenia into words in his 2023 memoir, The Dealmaker: How to Succeed in Business & Life Through Dedication, Determination, & Disruption. “At the time I was diagnosed with neutropenia, most people died from it,” he wrote. “Therefore, the first six years of my life were consumed by my parents’ fear.”
Mauricio recalled being “poked and prodded” and having his blood taken at the hospital multiple times a week. “Incredibly, when I was six years old, after a visit to Boston Children’s Hospital for a regular blood test, the doctors told me I was cured and that I no longer had neutropenia,” he continued. “It was a medical miracle that set the tone for the self-assured man I was destined to become. Still, the trauma of those six years took a mental toll on me and are completely blocked from my memory.”
Mauricio appeared on The Titans of Real Estate podcast in June 2019, where he admitted that his recovery is nothing short of remarkable. “I was lucky to be cured,” he recalled. “It was not a curable disease. It was, at that point, it was just something you got lucky, and I feel like I’ve had a little bit of a leprechaun on my shoulder ever since then.”
In his memoir, however, Mauricio revealed that the focus on his neutropenia led his family to not realize that he was “legally blind in one eye” until he was about nine years old.
“What was so astonishing is that my blind eye had never hindered me,” he admitted, noting that his vision remains 20/400 in that eye. “Fortunately, as with every other hinderance I’ve encountered throughout my life, I’ve found a way to thrive in spite of it.”
Details on Mauricio Umansky’s “long road to recovery” after ski accident
Clearly, Mauricio is no stranger to adversity, which is why he’s not letting his recent ski accident bring him down. The Agency founder took to Instagram on Feb. 28, where he revealed that he had a “bionic metal plate plus 12 screws” put into his clavicle to fix it.
“Long road to recovery,” he wrote in the caption of the post. “It’s about the journey and the attitude. I feel blessed and lucky. There’s a lot of things that can go wrong in life. I got saved.”
Learn more about Mauricio’s ski accident and his recovery process
