Vicki Gunvalson Says Daughter Briana Culberson’s Lupus Diagnosis ‘Has Affected Part of Her Heart’

The past year has been a trying time for Vicki Gunvalson‘s daughter.

Last fall, it was revealed on the Real Housewives of Orange County season 11 finale that Briana Culberson was diagnosed with Lupus — an incurable autoimmune disease that causes joint pain and fatigue.

“It’s been a tough year for her. She was back at the doctor on Friday. Lupus has affected part of her heart, it’s literally something every other week,” the O.G. Housewife told Page Six in a recent interview.

“It affects her in different ways, her immune system is very low,” said Gunvalson, 55.

“You know, she’s finding her way with what she can do with it, her health,” said Gunvalson, who noted that 30-year-old Culberson — who underwent surgery to remove enlarged lymph nodes in 2015 — is currently working at a surgical center. “She wants to work, she wants to be a nurse, but she’s limited.”

In July, Gunvalson claimed during an appearance on Access Hollywood that Culberson got a serious infection after she was operated on with a dirty scalpel in Oklahoma.

“It almost killed my daughter,” Gunvalson said.

“ with feces from a previous surgery that day they put inside her body,” she shared. “So, not good, she almost lost her leg. She almost died and all this stuff.”

Gunvalson said that with help from Los Angeles’ City of Hope, Culberson was treated with three weeks of “IV antibiotics and got all of it out of her body.”

WATCH: Vicki Gunvalson’s Daughter Briana Culberson Has Been Diagnosed with Lupus

Despite the difficulties Culberson faces as a result of her diagnosis, Gunvalson remains positive about her daughter’s future.

“She’s a trooper, she’s young, she’s got age on her side,” Gulvason told Page Six of Culberson, who shares sons Owen and Troy with husband Ryan. “She’s 30, people live with Lupus, it’s just unfortunate. She’s going to be okay.”

The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Mondays (9 p.m. ET) on Bravo.