Jenny McCarthy Opens Up About Horrific Health Ordeal: 'Growths on My Eyeballs' (Exclusive)

Jenny McCarthy is feeling thankful to be able to eat turkey this Thanksgiving, after enduring horrific recurring mouth infections.

"I've had nine surgeries this year, on my mouth," she revealed to PEOPLE. "I had one infection that turned into another and another, and then I had these growths show up on my eyeballs."

She says it started with a failed ceramic dental implant.

"My teeth were falling out, implants falling out. They finally had to dig into my jawbone and chipped away, and found I had a deep bone infection. I've been on antibiotics for a year, and have had to eat soft foods only."

On Nov. 25, the Formless Beauty founder and her husband Donnie Wahlberg released their annual holiday card in which they looked extremely fit. McCarthy says her trim figure was the result of not being able to eat much due to a mouthful of stitches.

"I had two more mouth surgeries even after that photo was taken," she says. "I've been pretty unlucky."

"As of now, I'm able to chew again, but every time we thought it had cleared up, it came back again, I'd be in massive pain with my jaw swelling up, and at the same time I was getting these growths popping up on my eyeballs," she says. "People should actually feel a little sorry for me!"

Now that she's (hopefully) in the clear, she says she's just looking forward to being with her husband for Thanksgiving.

"It's been a little tricky-wicky getting together," she says of balancing their busy schedules.

"I've been shooting The Masked Singer in Los Angeles, he’s been in Canada with Boston Blue. So it's been tricky and difficult, which means Thanksgiving and Christmas will mean more to us than ever this year. It’s just me and him, at home in Chicago, me cooking a bird, and enjoying each other."

Plus, she's thrilled to be able to enjoy more than just the mashed potatoes.

"I think I'm past the storm," she says. "I'm about to chow down!"