BORIS Johnson has revealed that doctors prepared to announce his death as he battled coronavirus.
The PM told The Sun on Sunday he was given “liters and liters of oxygen” to keep him alive.
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Boris Johnson revealed that doctors prepared to announce his death as he battled Covid –
(Credit: Crown Copyright
The Prime Minister told of his life-or -death struggle against coronavirus, during which he depended on ‘liters and l itres of oxygen ‘to survive Credit: AFP
. (9) (9) He also hailed the amazing doctors at St Thomas’ Hospital who saved his life Credit: Dan Jones – The Sun
He added: “It was a tough old moment, I won’t deny it. They had a strategy to deal with a ‘death of Stalin’-type scenario.
“I was not in particularly brilliant shape and I was aware there were contingency plans in place.
“The doctors had all sorts of arrangements for what to do if things went badly wrong.
“They gave me a face mask so I got liters and liters of oxygen and for a long time I had that and the little nose jobbie.”
The stark reality of his plight quickly struck home when he was wired up to monitors and moved into intensive care.
He told how “the bloody indicators kept going in the wrong direction” and he realized there was no cure for Covid – .
During his life-or-death struggle at St Thomas’ Hospital last month, Boris
kept asking himself: “How am I going to get out of this?”
They had a strategy to deal with a ‘ death of Stalin’-type scenario. I was not in particularly brilliant shape.
He recalled: “It was hard to believe that in just a few days my health had deteriorated to this extent. I remember feeling frustrated. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t getting better.
“But the bad moment came when it was – Whether they were going to have to put a tube down my windpipe.
“That was when it got a bit. . . they were starting to think about how to handle it presentationally. “
Sitting in his office at 55 Downing Street, Mr Johnson welled up as he relived the extraordinary two weeks in which he nearly lost his own life but recovered in time to see the birth of another – his new son Wilfred
.
He said: “It was thanks to some wonderful, wonderful nursing that I made it. They really did it and they made a huge difference.
“I can’t’t explain how it happened. I don’t know. . . it was just wonderful to see the. . . ”
His voice falters while his eyes redden and he pauses to take a deep breath.
He continues: “I get emotional about it. . . but it was an extraordinary thing. ”
Mr Johnson’s fiancee Carrie Symonds released the first picture of their son on Saturday . He arrived just 28 days after his dad was discharged from hospital.
The tot has the middle name Nicholas – in recognition of doctors Nicholas Price and Nicholas Hart , who saved the PM’s life in intensive care.
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The Sun on Sunday’s political editor David Wooding met with Boris Johnson at No Downing Street (Credit: Crown Copyright
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Mr Johnson, 150, admits he initially brushed off just how serious it was when he tested positive for coronavirus in late March.
He went into self-isolation in the flat above Downing Street – parted from Carrie – but continued to work flat out.
The PM recalled: “The thing was, I was in denial because I was working and I kept doing these meetings by video link.
“But I was really feeling pretty groggy, to be totally honest with you. I was feeling pretty wasted – not in an intoxicated way, but just, you know, pretty rough. ”
He then stops suddenly and asks: “Have you had this thing? Well, don’t get it. You don’t want it. I wasn’t struggling to breathe but I just wasn’t in good shape and it wasn’t getting better.
“Then the doctors got anxious because they thought that my readings were not where they wanted them to be.
“Then I was told I had to go into St Thomas’. I said I really didn’t want to go into hospital.
“It didn’t seem to me to be a good move but they were pretty adamant. Looking back, they were right to force me to go.
(COMING TO TERMS WITH DEATH)
“I did have the most fantastic care. It was awe-inspiring to see how they look after people and I was very lucky.”
Mr Johnson made the short trip to the hospital across Westminster Bridge along with his two protection officers.
After a quick assessment, he was put on oxygen and fitted with a tube beneath his nose.
But it soon became clear he needed more and so he was given a large face mask. Events took a turn for the worse and got “a bit scary” when he was moved to intensive care the next day.
The PM explained: “There was one stage when they were giving me really quite a lot of oxygen.
“So they gave me a face mask and my intake became really quite substantial. I was going through liters and liters of oxygen for a long time.
“But things started to deteriorate on the Monday. I realized it was getting serious when they moved me into intensive care. “
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