Richard Bacon reveals he nearly died twice as he battled lung infection in hospital and vows to give up smoking cannabis as he recovers
The TV presenter described waking up from his medically induced coma as the 'worst day of my life' and reveals he was close to dying as he fought the infection from his hospital bed
RICHARD Bacon has revealed he was close to death and almost passed away twice after falling ill with a lung infection.
In a , Richard says “the probability was that I would die” the first two nights he spent in hospital.
He also revealed the horrific experience of waking up from a medically induced coma was so traumatic, it was “the worst day of my life” and he was thrashing about “like a wild animal”.
“I remember thinking: I’ve not got enough oxygen, the room’s too hot and I’m not getting enough attention,” he says.
“I need help. I remember consciously pulling the pipes out of my neck to set the alarms off. And it worked – people came running in.”
He was quickly put back in a second coma, waking up from which Richard describes as “lovely”.
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His wife, Rebecca, also revealed that while he was in the coma, Richard stopped breathing twice – only to start again seconds later.
Richard was in a six day coma to battle the infection.
Rebecca would spend days and nights by his bed talking to him, and he also got Skype and Facetime calls from celebrity friends including Times restaurant critic Giles Coren.
Jeremy Clarkson sent a video of himself singing, something Richard jokes kept him in the coma longer.
While he was unconscious, Richard’s brain developed an alternative reality and became convinced he’d have an operation to remove the infection from his lungs – and Rebecca would have the same op.
He dreamt that he’d have his voicebox removed – but that the hospital would give him a new one.
Now recovering at home in South London, Richard says he’s making positive life changes.
“I’m giving up drinking,” he says, adding that he was to drinking ‘four or five’ glasses of wine every night.
“In LA, I’ve been smoking weed. It’s all legal over there. I’m going to stop all that.”
Richard says he’s also in therapy, and wants “something positive to come out of adversity”.
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