British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that fears he would never meet his new son powered him through his near-death battle with coronavirus.
Johnson welcomed son Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson last Wednesday — his name a tribute to two of the doctors who saved the 55-year-old UK leader’s life in intensive care just weeks earlier.
As he was near-death in ICU, Johnson says he tried to stave off notions that he would never meet his then-unborn baby — or see the rest of his family.
“I won’t hide it from you, I was thinking about that, yes,” he told The Sun. “I just refused to let myself think down those lines.”
He said he was “thrilled” at the birth of his son which once again raised his admiration for the UK’s free National Health Service.
“What I can say is that I’ve seen the NHS save life, and I’ve seen the NHS bring new life into the world in the last month,” he told the UK paper.
“My love and admiration for that institution is boundless, that’s all I’ll say.”
Johnson said staff at London’s St Thomas’ Hospital clapped him out when he was finally discharged from ICU, insisting, “It is really the doctors and nurses who deserve it most.
“I owe my life to our doctors and nurses and the healthcare workers. They pulled my chestnuts out of the fire, no question.”
