Overview
The X-Factor judge was left 'hours from death' after being struck down with the tropical disease in July 2010.
Her 29-year-old Girls Aloud bandmate Kimberley told Cosmopolitan that she broke down as soon as she saw her friend.
'Cheryl getting ill... was the toughest time for everybody close to her... It was terrifying, awful, and bizarre,' she said.
'When I first saw her after she'd been ill, it was so emotional. I hugged her and I didn't really want to let her go. I was like, 'Sorry, I'm going to have to squeeze you for an hour.'
'I was so glad to see she was there in front of me, well. We had a good cry together.'
'I do feel a little bit protective [of Cheryl],' she continued. 'I don't like the fact she's so trapped sometimes, trying to go out and about.
'There's not a great deal you can do about it but it frustrates me. Everyone deserves a little bit of freedom and she doesn't even have that.'
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