Big Brother legend left needing paramedics after struggling to breathe amid ‘scary’ health battle
Big Brother legend Imogen Thomas has revealed she was left unable to breathe amid a terrifying health battle. The star shared that she had contracted a "deadly" viral infection that has left her "coughing up blood".
The star revealed she has been unable to eat for six days and her doctor called the paramedics at one point. Imogen took to her Instagram stories to update her followers on the illness. Over a picture of a Joe and the Juice drink, the star penned: "Day 6 in bed. For those mocking the flu this case has been all over the news of how savage it is. I couldn't breathe so I called my doctor and he called the paramedics.
"Drastic I know but I'm so grateful he did because this viral infection has been deadly and scary. Today I'm coughing small amounts of blood. I'm assuming it's from straining as the cough has been continuous. It's been so painful but I feel grateful it's happened now and not Christmas when my mum is with me who is vulnerable," she said.
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Imogen then revealed how she woke up “not shaking” on Day 6 of the illness, and hopes it’s the start of her recovery. “I will try and eat today too, it’s been impossible to keep anything down for 6 days!”
The former Big Brother star then revealed that her children had also been struck down with the illness, although she was the one who had been struggling the most. “Pray for me for a speedy recovery so I can enjoy my time with my family,” she concluded in the caption.
Imogen’s illness comes months after the star confessed that she cried herself to sleep worrying about her mother Janet, 64, more than a year after her motor neurone disease diagnosis. The star said her mother’s diagnosis had been a ‘huge game changer’ as she said she was focusing on caring for her.
“When you have someone so close to you diagnosed with MND it's a massive game-changer,” she told Mail Online. “It's a really awful inhumane disease and we know what's to come which is painful every day.
“It's heartbreaking and I feel robbed. I've already lost my Dad but then for her to be diagnosed with a terminal illness, that's just it. It's a big life change. I don't want to sit here and moan about it. They're your parents and you love them so you just get on with it but it has been a challenge.”
Imogen rose to fame on the 2006 series of the Channel 4 reality show, lasting an impressive 86 days in the house. The iconic series saw Imogen live with the likes of the late Nikki Grahame, Pete Bennett and Mikey Dalton.
