Nick Cannon opens up about kidney failure

Mariah Carey's husband Nick Cannon has opened up about his recent hospitalisation for kidney failure, revealing he thought he was "going to die" when he had to make a second emergency trip to hospital.

The rapper/radio host was hospitalised during a family vacation in Aspen, Colorado late last year (11) and treated for problems with his kidneys.

Cannon, who was later transferred to a hospital in Los Angeles, reveals his ordeal began over Christmas (11) when his superstar wife and their twin babies fell sick and he began acting like "Superman" as he tried to look after them.

During his Rollin' With Nick Cannon radio show on Tuesday (17Jan12), the star explains, "My kids caught a cold and I was looking after them and my wife wasn't feeling well... She caught a little cold and I was trying to be Superman and I hadn't slept for maybe four days 'cos I was taking care of the kids and my son had like an ear infection..."

When Cannon started feeling sick himself he headed to a gym and took cold medicines, thinking he could "knock it out and keep going," and when Carey told him to see a doctor, he refused as he has "always hated hospitals".

He adds, "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'."

Carey eventually went against his wishes and called in a medic when she found him curled up on the floor in pain, and after rounds of tests, he was diagnosed with kidney failure.

Cannon reveals he underwent several procedures in hospital and felt much better, but after he was discharged, he was in so much pain he thought he was "going to die" so he made a second emergency trip: "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."

However, the star insists he is now fully recovered, but he has promised to go back for regular check-ups, adding, "I'm good. I've got to go back to the doctor a couple more times, but I'm fine - I'm totally recovered."