MANILA, Philippines -- BB Gandanghari, formerly known as Rustom Padilla, expressed his happiness over his recent reconciliation with his brother, Robin Padilla.
In an interview with The Philippine Star newspaper published on Friday, Gandanghari said Robin's acceptance helped him recover after being hospitalized for five days.
He said it was their mother, Eva Cariño, who called all his siblings to visit him at the hospital. The next day, Gandanghari woke up seeing Robin at his side.
The action star even told his son, Ali: "Mula ngayon, Aunt BB na ang itawag mo sa kanya, ha!"
Reacting to Robin's acceptance, Gandanghari said: "Parang bigla akong gumaling, knowing that Robin has finally accepted me."
"Ang gaan-gaan ng pakiramdam ko, para akong nabunutan ng tinik sa dibdib."
Gandanghari suffered from "an acute case of urinary tract infection that led to severe dehydration that almost destroyed her kidney and bladder," according to The Philippine Star.
“My white blood cells were more than 20,000, way above the maximum normal and my vital organs were almost collapsing. Kung na-delay pa raw ang pagdala sa akin sa ospital, I would have been a goner by now," he said.
Gandanghari admitted that his condition worsened when he got depressed because of Robin's refusal to accept his sexuality.
“I kept on making my mom kulit to act as bridge between Robin and me. Kasi naman, all the other members of my family have accepted me for what I have become at si Robin lang ang hindi makatanggap. It stayed at the back of my mind, in my subconscious. Magkasunod kami ni Robin and he was the one I would run to when I had problems, so even if my family was okey na with me, I felt sad that Robin was in denial.
"I got sick na before but when I got well, but after only a few days I returned to my old ways (not taking enough water) so n’ung nag-relapse, matindi na talaga. My depression worsened my condition," he added.
