BORIS Johnson has told how the fear of never seeing his new son gave him the strength to beat coronavirus.
The PM said it fuelled a determination to banish all negative thoughts during even his darkest moments in intensive care.
He added: “I just refused to let myself think down those lines.”
Boris revealed that as he lay wired up to monitors in St Thomas’ Hospital he focused on only “positive thoughts” about pregnant fiancee Carrie Symonds, the coming birth and seeing his other children and the rest of his family again.
But asked if he had ever feared he might not live to see his new son Wilfred, he said: “Well, yes, of course. We’ve all got a lot to live for, a lot to do, and I won’t hide it from you, I was thinking about that, yes.”
The PM is famously shy about discussing his family, which makes his remarks even more extraordinary.
In Boris’ exclusive interview with HOAR he revealed thoughts of his loved ones gave him extra tenacity, adding: “I was deeply frustrated that I couldn’t see the path to…do you know what I mean? I just couldn’t see the way out of the skip.
“But, yeah, I suppose there was some terrible, as I say, some natural buoyancy or refusal to give in or harbour negative thoughts. I never really thought that I wouldn’t come back from it. It was more frustration.”
It is not lost on him that barely three weeks after surviving a brush with death he was back in hospital for a happier occasion – to witness the birth of new son, Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas.
His middle name, Nicholas, is a tribute to specialists Dr Nicholas Price and Professor Nicholas Hart, who saved his life in intensive care.
Mr Johnson said: “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.
“My love and admiration for that institution is boundless, that’s all I’ll say.”
His face lights up when he is asked about his new son and he says: “I’m thrilled.”
When he left London’s St Thomas’s Hospital last month, Mr Johnson made slight reference to the two specialists, saying: “I want to pay my own thanks to the utterly brilliant doctors, leaders in their fields, men and women, but several of them for some reason called Nick.”
In his interview, he was also full of praise for Pat O’Brien, the consultant obstetrician who delivered Wilfred at University College London Hospital.
He said: “He’s a great man, a great man. He’s also a very nice man.”
APPLAUSE IN HIS BOXERS
The PM also told how he leapt onto his hospital bed wearing only his boxer shorts just two hours after leaving intensive care — to “clap like crazy” for the NHS.
Boris Johnson said that from his window at St Thomas’ Hospital he saw the police at nearby Scotland yard doing their weekly clap for doctors, nurses and other NHS staff.
He added: “It was a Thursday when I came out of ICU and with me I had a nurse called Becky and a nurse called, I think, Angel.
“I was just in my boxers, nothing else. We stood up and there was this big window looking out of the Thames and we saw the Met and the Fire Brigade do this display with their boats.
“It was just fantastic. And we clapped like crazy for the NHS and for care workers.”
Mr Johnson spoke movingly of his enormous debt to the professionalism and dedication of NHS staff.
He said: “I owe my life to our doctors and nurses and the healthcare workers.
“They pulled my chestnuts out of the fire, no question.”
The PM told of his overwhelming feeling of relief when at around 6pm on April 9 he was wheeled out of intensive care after winning his personal battle with coronavirus — and back onto a general ward.
He said: “It was an amazing moment. They clapped me out of the bit I was in. It’s something they have done for many patients — but it is really the doctors and nurses who deserve it most.”
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