Latest news with #doublepneumonia
BBC News
04-08-2025
- Health
- BBC News
'I defied medics to run every street in my town'
When marathon runner Chris Smith suffered a serious respiratory illness he was told he would never run again - now he is defying the odds by running every single street in his keen athelete, from Great Sankey in Warrington, Cheshire, collapsed while out running and was diagnosed with double pneumonia, blood clots in both lungs, pleurisy as well as septicaemia in he seeked a second opinion but was only told the same."I was very thankful to be alive, but I was hugely upset. I'd spent my whole life as a runner, at the time I was 59 and it was a way of life," he said. "When I was a young man I graduated from 800 and 1,500 metre, through to five and 10km and eventually I ran 55 marathons in the UK, America and Europe."I was determined to run again."I thought to myself no I'm not gonna accept this. I couldn't sit at home twiddling my thumbs." In July 2021, a year after being discharged, Mr Smith said he had tried to prove the consultants wrong by going for a short run, "but instead I proved them right" by falling years later he tried and failed again but in the summer of 2024 he made a third attempt and this time things were different."I felt better than I had done in a long while," he extra inspiration, this was when he came up with the idea of a challenge to run every single street in the borough of Warrington. "I was determined by this point I was going to find a way," he has since become a regular sight across the borough and has filmed his progress, which has been edited into a short film. 'People are curious' "I ran 368 miles, recorded 1.2 million steps in 70 days and filmed more than 90 hours of video in 2,927 streets," he said."A lot of people were very curious about what I was doing because I'd be going in and out of a cul-de-sac," he said."I had been passing people several times and that was the best part, stopping and talking to people."I've competed in championship triathlons, the biggest marathons in the world, I've done some big swimming events but this was the best thing I've ever done," he Mr Smith said he has now plans to stop there."I was initially told I'd never swim, I'd never run and I'd never cycle again," he said."But I've proved that I can run so I've now started swimming again and I'm hoping to get out on the bike in the next week or two."I am now looking again at some low level triathlons towards the end of the summer." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Asharq Al-Awsat
24-02-2025
- Health
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Vatican: Pope Francis Had a 'Good' Night in Hospital
Pope Francis, in critical condition battling double pneumonia, had a "good" night in hospital, slept and is resting, the Vatican said on Monday. The 88-year-old pope was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14 after having trouble breathing for several days, and subsequently had pneumonia diagnosed in both lungs. The Vatican described his condition as critical for a second day on Sunday and that he had an "initial, slight insufficiency" in his kidney function that day. The prognosis for the pope, who required a transfusion of two units of blood on Saturday after experiencing a "prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis," remains "guarded", according to the latest medical update. "It was a good night, the pope slept and is resting," the Vatican said in a one-sentence update on Monday morning that did not provide further information. Double pneumonia is a serious infection that can inflame and scar both lungs, making it difficult to breathe. The Vatican has described the pope's infection as "complex," and that it was caused by two or more microorganisms. Francis, who has been pope since 2013, has suffered bouts of ill health over the past two years. He is particularly prone to lung infections because he developed pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed.
