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'Ready to Love' cast member in hospital on life support

The family is raising money to pay for medical bills.

A cast member on the dating show "Ready to Love" is sick in the hospital.

Will Packer, the producer of the series, posted a video on Instagram late Wednesday night saying Alexx Blanks was very ill and needed prayers.

"Alexx Blanks, he's in bad shape," Packer said in the video. "He's in a hospital bed in Atlanta, Georgia and he's fighting for his life."

His family set up a GoFundMe campaign, saying Blanks is sick with brain flu.

"He was diagnosed with Influenza B and had become dehydrated and his kidney was damaged because of the dehydration," his mother said on the GoFundMe page.

The family is raising money to help pay for medical bills.

"He is 34 years old and now on life support with a flu virus that has attacked his body and brain," the GoFundMe page says. "There are other complications that have developed from this Flu virus, it has been very aggressive. As of now, his medical bills are rising daily and there is no insurance. He is self-employed." 

The show airs on OWN, is filmed in Atlanta, and hosted by Thomas "Nephew Tommy" Miles.  OWN's website list Blanks as a 34-year-old trucker driver owner/operator and a clothing line owner.

On Nov. 20, Blanks posted on his Instagram account a photo that said he was "out sick."

"Flu ain’t no joke," Blanks said in the post. "Pray for a brother. Been out of commission since Friday... fever on 100 plus."

Dr. Sujatha Reddy tells 11Alive that says people can get severe complications from the flu.

“Brain flu probably is referring to when the influenza virus affects parts of the brain. This also can be called meningitis or possibly encephalitis and what’s happening is the flu virus is infecting the covering of the brain or the brain tissue itself,” Reddy said. 

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