Ben Cohen feared he'd be dead within days: 'I worried I wouldn't see my daughters grow up'
BEN COHEN has revealed how he feared he would not get to watch his children grow up after he was rushed to hospital with glandular fever, pericarditis and sepsis.
Ben Cohen feared he'd be dead within days 'I worried I wouldn't see my daughters grow up'
Kristina Rihanoff gets on really well with Ben Cohen's kids
The rugby player, who shares daughter Mila, one, with former Strictly Come Dancing star Kristina Rihanoff, admitted he thought he would be dead within days after being diagnosed with the life-threatening combination.
"At hospital I had an ECG and irregularities in my heart were spotted," he told this week’s OK! magazine.
"After a few more tests they diagnosed me with glandular fever and pericarditis, which is a swelling of the fluid sack around your heart.
Ben Cohen feared he'd be dead within days: 'I worried I wouldn't see my daughters grow up'
Ben was rushed to hospital with glandular fever, pericarditis and sepsis.
If I hadn't gone into hospital when I did I would have been dead within days
"They told me if I hadn't gone into hospital when I did I would have been dead within days because it was causing an infection in my blood stream."
Ben, 38, also has nine-year-old twins Harriet and Isabelle with his ex-wife Abby and said all he could think about was his children.
"I didn't think about anything materialistic or all the lovely things we have, I was just worried that I wouldn't live to see my daughters grow up," he told the publication.
Ben has twin daughters, Harriet and Isabelle, with his ex-wife Abby
Kristina said motherhood was harder than she thought it would be
"When I eventually got home, I bawled my eyes out - it hit me how scary the whole situation had been."
Meanwhile, Kristina opened up about being mum to Mila, who has just celebrated her first birthday.
"Motherhood is harder than I ever thought it would be but also more rewarding," she admitted.
"Life is all about Mila now - everything we want to achieve is with our children in mind."
Read the full interview with Ben Cohen and Kristina Rihanoff in OK! magazine, out now.