Broadcaster Simpson almost dies in allergy shock
VETERAN BBC broadcaster John Simpson nearly died after suffering a deadly allergic reaction, the Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The foreign correspondent, who has reported from war zones across the world, was left battling for his life after a series of medical problems mounted up after he complained of feeling unwell.
A GP visited him at home and immediately sent him to hospital where it was discovered that he was suffering from food poisoning and severe dehydration.
This combined with medication that Simpson routinely takes and caused an allergic reaction which led to severe kidney problems.
The 72-year-old journalist then went into swift and dramatic decline in intensive care at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford on September 8.
His wife, Dee Kruger, said last night: ‘It was like a perfect storm.
‘From being mildly unwell the shocking thing was how, in the space of hours, his body went into a kind of acute shock.
‘At one point there were 20 people standing around his bed and one of the main guys was saying they are reaching the limits of what they can do for him.’
He is expected to be discharged today. He later thanked medics on Twitter: ‘Thank heavens for Stuart McKechnie & the ICU team at the Radcliffe. I’d not have survived, due to a rare & deadly allergic reaction.’