Nick Cannon has opened up on the time lupus "almost took [his] life".
Nick Cannon recalls near-death experience
The 41-year-old actor and talk show host had a near-fatal battle with the autoimmune disease - which occurs when the body's immune system attacks its own tissues and organs - a decade ago.
And during Monday's (10.01.21) episode of his eponymous talk show, Nick began: “Ten years ago, I experienced a sudden and mysterious illness that almost took my life.
“At the time, I had no idea it was lupus. And, you know me, I always have to have a camera on."
In a video documenting his battle with lupus, Nick showed footage from January 2012 with his then-wife Mariah Carey, 52, of them playing in the snow with their 10-year-old twins Monroe and Moroccan, before he described the immense pain and shortness of breath he experienced.
A doctor then told Nick he had “a lot of oedema", swelling in the body’s tissues, before finding out he had two clots in his lungs.
The 'Drumline' star said: “It’s the last place you wanna be, man. Doctors telling you you could die.”
A month later, Nick was hospitalised with blood clots and his near-death experience motivated him to "change everything" about the way he lives his life, including adopting a healthyier diet, and he hopes by sharing his experience he will help others.
He said: “God’s plans are always bigger than our problems, so, what was once an issue, I can now say, ‘Look what we went through'
“It was hard. It was a struggle, but we made it through.”
After being hospitalised, Nick admitted he felt "blessed to be alive" because he might not be here to tell the story if doctors hadn't discovered he had lupus.
He said at the time: “[Lupus] is something I’m going to be living with all my life. I feel blessed to be alive. If it wasn’t discovered, I don’t know.”
The former Nickelodeon star opening up about his battle with lupus comes after the tragic death of his five-month-old son, Zen.
Nick sadly lost his youngest child last month when he passed away from brain cancer, which he was diagnosed with in August.
And Nick said telling his other children – also including four-year-old son Golden, 12-month-old daughter Powerful Queen, and six-month-old twins Zion and Zillion – was “pretty intense”, but his brood have helped him cope with the loss.
He said: "Having to explain that to 10-year-olds [Moroccan and Monroe] and a four-year-old [Golden] is pretty intense. But their understanding and them being there for me probably helped me keep it together as well as really deal with it. Specifically, even, Roc and Roe. They were there for the entire journey."
Nick – who had Zen with Alyssa Scott – was by his son’s side when he passed away on December 5, and said being with Zen at the time was a “blessing”.
He added: "I see it as a blessing that I got to be there. Alyssa says, 'I think he was just waiting for you.'"
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