Nick Cannon Opens Up About Kidney Scare, "I Thought I Was Going To Die"

Actor/rapper Nick Cannon has opened up about his recent kidney scare while vacationing in Colorado.

Cannon, who suffered a mild kidney failure, said his wife Mariah Carey forced him to have some tests run, where his kidney troubles were detected.

“Two days before New Year’s (Eve) I started feeling this horrible pain in my back, I starting thinking maybe when I was boxing I got hit. . . . My wife, who was my angel throughout this entire thing. . . . She was like, ‘You gotta go to a doctor’ and I’m like ‘No’. … I thought I was good. The scariest part was when they said ‘You can go home while we get these other tests back.’ . . . They sent me home. . . . I got to my house and that’s when I thought I was going to die… The pain came back twice as much and other stuff wasn’t working and I had to go back to the hospital. … I’m good. I’ve got to go back to the doctor a couple more times, but I’m fine — I’m totally recovered.”

In a statement issued on Monday, Cannon’s publicist Tracy Nguyen said he is “resting and recovering at home” and thanks everyone who was concerned about him. She says he’ll return to his live morning radio show, “Rollin’ with Nick Cannon,” on Jan. 17.