Jon Gosselin Nearly Died After Scary Health Emergency and Hospitalization

Jon Gosselin is speaking out about a scary health emergency that led to him narrowly escaping death.

Gosselin’s health episode began when he experienced “grueling pain” in his leg in the weeks before his wedding to Stephanie Lebo, he told Daily Mail in an interview published Wednesday, January 28. The following day, the pain got even worse, spreading all the way up to his shoulder and eventually leading to a coughing fit the next night. It was then that the out-of-the-ordinary symptoms raised alarm bells for Gosselin.

“I was like, ‘Something is wrong,’” the Jon & Kate Plus 8 alum, 48, remembered. “I coughed up what looked like Silly Putty — it was a blood clot.”

Gosselin, in hindsight, realized he had committed “the biggest no-no” when he decided to drive himself to the hospital.

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“If you have deep-vein thrombosis, you could die at the wheel,” he explained, adding that once he got to the hospital and underwent an MRI, doctors discovered he had two bilateral pulmonary embolisms. (Gosselin also underwent an ultrasound, which he claims was unnecessary and a means for the hospital to “double bill” him.)

A pulmonary embolism is “a blood clot that blocks and stops blood flow to an artery in the lung,” per Mayo Clinic. The clot typically starts in a deep vein in the leg before traveling to the lung. Pulmonary embolisms can be fatal, but prompt medical treatment lowers the risk of death.

Thankfully, in Gosselin’s case, doctors quickly began treating the condition with proper medication, including heart meds, blood pressure meds, aspirin and Eliquis. (Eliquis is “used to treat or reduce the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after receiving at least five days of medicine to treat blood clots,” per Mayo Clinic.)

Gosselin said he “definitely could have died” had he not gone to the hospital and ran the risk of suffering “a real pulmonary embolism.” His family was also incredibly concerned about his condition, including now-wife Labo and kids Hannah and Collin, both 21. (Jon shares sextuplets Hannah, Collin, Leah, Alexis, Joel and Aaden, as well as 25-year-old twins Mady and Cara, with ex-wife Kate Gosselin.)

“Stephanie was scared to death,” he said, adding that Hannah and Collin were “freaked out” by the news. Jon also revealed the hospital visit resulted in a whopping $20,000 medical bill, which he is currently working with a healthcare strategist to help sort out.

Following his brush with death, Jon made a full recovery and was able to marry Lebo, 38, at The Barn at Silverstone in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in front of 180 guests. Hannah and Collin were in attendance along with Lebo’s daughter, Juliana. (Jon is currently estranged from six of his children.)

“Before I met you, I never knew what it was like to be able to look at someone and smile for no reason,” Jon told Lebo in his vows, per Entertainment Tonight. “I feel like the luckiest man in the world, because I get to grow old with my best friend and the love of my life.”