Cheryl Cole Reveals Malaria Made Her Think Doctors Were Trying To Kill Her

8 October 2012, 14:11 | Updated: 8 October 2012, 14:19

The 'Call My Name' singer admits she looked "nine months pregnant" as Derek Hough stayed at her hospital bedside.

Cheryl Cole has opened up on her battle with malaria, which made her so delirious that she thought her doctors were trying to kill her.

The 'Under The Sun' singer's comments, taken from her autobiography Cheryl: My Story, have been printed in The Sun today (8^th October) and recall the horrifying illness and the affect it had upon her.

"I remember waking up in the Cromwell Hospital, delirious. That was when I started accusing the doctors of trying to kill me," she admitted. "They had been trying to take my blood again as soon as I arrived."

The Girls Aloud star said she neglected any attempts from her doctors to assist her as she was confused as to their intentions.

"They were also covering my body in freezing, wet towels to try and lower my temperature, but I flung these back at them," she said. "First they were struggling to find a vein, then there was blood pumping out of my wrist."

Recalling the ordeal and how it altered her appearance, she revealed that she was unrecognisable.

"My face was so puffy my eyes were like slits, and I was so swollen I looked nine months pregnant," she admitted. "A guy held an oxygen mask on my face, but I said: “I know what you’re doing. You're all trying to kill me. Don't think I'm stupid."

Cheryl revealed how close she came to losing her life when she overheard a doctor say she needed to get fluid out of her lungs in the next 24 hours or she could be dead. 

The emotional and physical strain led the singer to have a conversation with her mum about her last will and testament.

"I can clearly remember asking the nurse if I was dying — and feeling relieved when she said: 'It's a possibility'," she said. "'Make this end', I thought. I just had nothing left.

"Afterwards I told mam: 'I'm gonna write me will. Bring paper, I need to tell you what to do'."

The '3 Words' singer also admits how her friendship with rumoured ex-boyfriend Derek Hough helped her through the ordeal.

"Derek slept on the floor beside me, refusing to leave," she confessed.

Cheryl also revealed how he was someone she could confide in when the reports about Ashely Cole's affair made their way into the media.

"I felt I could trust him and talk to him about anything, because he just was so dignified and well-mannered and easy to be with," she said. "I was used to being surrounded by girls, but I was now starting to get very mistrustful of women, which is probably another reason I confided in Derek."

She added: " He's one of the most kind and sensitive and gentlemanly men I have ever met."

Her autobiography also opens up on her feelings towards Simon Cowell after her sacking from The X Factor USA and her marriage split to Chelsea footballer Ashley Cole.