David Duchovny admits to trouble ‘reattaching’ to daughter after nearly losing her to ‘horrifying’ RSV bout

David Duchovny is reliving a scary moment in his life. 

During an appearance on Wednesday's episode of SiriusXM's "Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa," the "X-Files" alum opened up about his past troubles "reattaching" to his now-adult daughter, West, 25, after nearly losing her to RSV as an infant. 

"When my daughter West was 9 months old, she got RSV, which kind of was in the news again a couple years ago," the actor, who shares West and son, Kyd, 21, with ex Téa Leoni, said. "I'd never heard of it until my daughter got it, and it's very dangerous for infants, and she went into the hospital and she had, nobody knew what it was. They thought maybe she had meningitis. She was non-responsive."

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RSV, or Respiratory syncytial virus, is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. However, it can be extremely dangerous for infants as it can cause breathing difficulties, according to the CDC. 

"They gave her a spinal tap. It was really horrifying and this was her first cold, if you can remember as a parent, that first cold," he said. "But this was truly a nightmare because we really thought we could lose her, and I was working on 'The X-Files' at the time and Téa was staying in the hospital with West and I would go and visit after work for a few hours, and then I'd go home, and I remember being in the shower and just thinking, I started to try to acclimate myself to a world without her."

"This is a real possibility," he continued. "I've got to think about it and I realized I would never get over it. Not that I couldn't live, but just that life would, as it says in the book, it would have no meaning or joy."

"I would go on, but I'd be a shell of something and West was fine. She was fine, and I realized, as a father, I had troubles shortly after that," he added. "I don't know if the word is reattaching, but accepting her back in. I was so terrified."

The "Californication" actor, who recently launched a podcast, is gearing up to talk about some real-life experiences, including his "high-profile divorce" from Leoni and his stint in rehab.  

"Why am I making a podcast? The best answer I can come up with is that I feel like I’ve been failing my entire life, so I can speak from plenty of experience," the synopsis for his podcast, "Fail Better with David Duchovny," reads. "Sure, I was on ‘The X Files’ and ‘Californication,’ I wrote some books and made some music. But I also got a literal F in ‘The New York Times.’" 

"I had a high-profile divorce and a magical mystery tour through rehab. So now I want to get into the way that failure looms over all of us and really shapes who we are. What’s good about that, what’s bad about that, what’s holding us back in shame? Lots to unpack here."

The podcast will feature special guests such as Ben Stiller, Bette Midler and more.