The 56-year-old entertainer first disclosed in September 2025 that he had been diagnosed with sepsis, forcing him to abruptly exit the Broadway production of Cabaret. According to the Mayo Clinic, sepsis occurs when the body responds improperly to an infection and can quickly become fatal if untreated.

Speaking on TS Madison's podcast Outlaws, Porter detailed the medical emergency that led to his hospitalisation. Porter said he had gone to the doctor for what he believed was a routine check-up when doctors discovered a kidney stone trapped in his urethra. "When they got in there, there was so much pus, and bile, and infection behind the stone. It bubbled up and I went uroseptic in minutes," he said.

Urosepsis is a severe infection that begins in the urinary tract and spreads through the body, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Porter's condition deteriorated rapidly and he was placed on an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machine, a form of life support.

"I was dead for three days. I am a miracle. I'm a walking miracle," he said.

During the crisis, doctors also discovered that his leg had developed compartment syndrome, a condition in which swelling cuts off oxygen to the muscles.

"So they had to cut me open on either side of my leg while I was in a coma, and from my knee to my hip, and leave it open for two days, so they could save my leg," Porter recalled.Agencies