A BROADCASTER who hailed staff at the John Radcliffe for reviving him from a potent bout of food poisoning has revealed that his toxic meal was eaten at a "local" restaurant.
Veteran foreign correspondent John Simpson was treated at the Headington hospital's intensive care unit on September 8, after reportedly falling victim to a dodgy plate of kedgeree that could have killed him.
Thank heavens for Stuart Mckechnie & the ICU team at the Radcliffe. I'd not have survived, due to a rare & deadly allergic reaction.
— John Simpson (@JohnSimpsonNews) September 12, 2016
Still coming to terms w the sheer brilliance of the staff @OUHospitals ICU Radcliffe who saved my life. Time we took #NHS out of politics!
— John Simpson (@JohnSimpsonNews) September 18, 2016
The 72-year-old father and BBC world affairs editor told the Daily Mail that he collapsed in his Oxford home after devouring the rice dish three days earlier, in a "local restaurant".
Speaking in the paper today, he said: "I thought it tasted slightly weird, but Dee (his wife) and I were chatting so I carried on shovelling it in. But towards the end of the meal, I thought: 'No, something’s wrong' and I stopped eating."
He endured sickness and light-headedness in the following days, before falling unconscious the morning he was rushed to hospital.
Mr Simpson has not yet revealed further details about where the offending dish - usually a mix of smoked haddock, spicy rice and boiled eggs - hailed from.
The intensity of his illness is thought to have been sparked by severe dehydration and kidney problems brought on by the food poisoning, which his blood pressure medication made worse.
He told the Daily Mail that doctors initially thought he could have been exposed to cyanide or radiation, and warned his family that he probably would not survive.
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