Rudy Giuliani, 81, has spoken about a frightening health crisis that left him close to death in recent weeks.
In early May, reports said the former New York City mayor had been taken to hospital and was in a serious condition after developing viral pneumonia.
According to accounts from that period, his condition became so grave that a priest was called to administer last rites.
Even so, people around Giuliani believed he could recover, describing him as someone who doesn’t give up easily.
“He’s a fighter — the way he was yesterday in such a critical condition, he did have a priest come anoint him,” his physician, Dr Maria Ryan, told Fox.
“And all the prayers from around — it’s like a miracle. This guy’s got nine lives, today he’s doing much better.”
The situation was reportedly precarious, and Giuliani became so unwell that he slipped into a coma at one stage.
During that coma, the disbarred lawyer said he underwent what he described as a powerful spiritual episode. Speaking on his show America’s Mayor Live, Giuliani said: “I also had a very, very significant spiritual experience at a time in which I was in a state of like… out of it.
“I would equate it to a dream of my being on line headed for, I can’t say headed for heaven, headed for a trial by St. Peter.”
“There was a very significant intervention by my Peter, I have my own Peter… Peter J. Powers, my friend of my lifetime,” he continued.
Powers, a longtime friend and once a senior aide to Giuliani, died in May 2014 after a lengthy fight with cancer.
Giuliani said that, in the experience he recalled, Powers delivered words that stayed with him. He explained: “Peter said some very significant words, and I made sure, as soon as I woke up, I started telling people and recorded it in part.”
He also said that after he regained consciousness, he asked his son Andrew to record him while he recounted what he remembered from the time he was “out of it.”
Giuliani added that he intends to reveal more about what he experienced, but said further details would come at a later time.
It has also been suggested that his latest medical emergency was worsened by an underlying respiratory issue linked to an illness he reportedly developed around the time of 9/11.
At the time of his hospitalization, his spokesperson Ted Goodman said: “This condition adds complications to any respiratory illness, and the virus quickly overwhelmed his body, requiring mechanical ventilation to maintain adequate oxygen and stabilize his condition.”