Kim Zolciak was forced to withdraw from Season 21 of "Dancing with the Stars" after a mini-stroke prevented her from appearing on Monday's edition of the show.
Zolciak was seen via video about mid-way through the episode when she told the audience, "I feel really great," after last week's medical emergency, which earned her three days in the hospital.
"My doctor told me yesterday that it's just too soon to fly. I can go next week, but I just couldn't go today," she explained, referring to how she lives in Atlanta and the show tapes in Los Angeles. "So, I'm really sad."
Co-host Tom Bergeron replied, "This is the 'don't shoot the messenger' portion of the show."
"This is a very unusual circumstance. It's still a competition," he said. "The rules state and these are rules that we've had since 2005 when we started the show... In the instance of illness or other health-related matters affecting a participant's ability to participate in the game, they must withdraw."
"I can dance. I just can't fly," Zolciak emphasized. "If I lived in Vegas or even 12 hours [away,] I'd be there tonight."
Because of Zolciak's unexpected elimination from the competition, no one else was cut from the program during Monday's two-hour episode, however the other dancers did not learn they were safe until the final seconds of the show.
Still in the running for the coveted mirrorball trophy are Bindi Irwin and Derek Hough, Nick Carter and Sharna Burgess, Carlos PenaVega and Witney Carson, Tamar Braxton and Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Alek Skarlatos and Lindsay Arnold, Alexa PenaVega and Mark Ballas, Andy Grammer and Allison Holker, Hayes Grier and Emma Slater, Gary Busey and Anna Trebunskaya, and Paula Deen and Louis van Amstel.
Bergeron and Erin Andrews are the show's hosts. The "DWTS" judges' panel is made up of Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba and Julianne Hough.
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Zolciak, 37, is best known for her appearances on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" and "Don't Be Tardy." She is also the mother of six children.