Draped in tubes and wires, Lord Ashcroft lies hovering between life and death, his body wracked with sepsis.
The Tory grandee released this photograph yesterday in a bid to raise awareness of the devastating consequences of the condition, which takes the life of 44,000 people in Britain each year.
Taken a year ago in an intensive care unit in the US, it pictures Lord Ashcroft plugged into life-support machines while doctors desperately tried to keep him alive.
Lord Ashcroft, who released this picture today, said: ‘It was touch and go whether I lived or died’
‘It was touch and go whether I lived or died – not only was my blood pressure dangerously low but my liver and kidneys were perilously close to shutting down,’ Lord Ashcroft said.
‘For a few days, I was completely out of it.
‘I have no recollection at all of certain periods of time, but I know that I was pretty incoherent. I was attached to all these machines and had an oxygen mask over my mouth.’
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He spent 19 days in intensive care at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, as medics fought to save his life.
Speaking at the UK Sepsis Trust conference in Brighton, Lord Ashcroft said: ‘I didn’t want to die, obviously, but I thought: “If I have to go, I’ve had a good innings.” I was even, with a hint of vanity, drafting in my head how my obituary might read.’
The billionaire businessman, and former deputy chairman of the Tory Party, was on a business trip in the Caribbean when doctors diagnosed the condition and organised an emergency airlift to Ohio.
Lord Ashcroft, whose explosive biography of David Cameron had just been serialised in the Mail, developed septic shock — his blood pressure had plummeted and his liver and kidneys were perilously close to shutting down.
It took him five months to recover, in which time he was re-admitted three times to hospital for blood clots on the lungs, gall stones and even the removal of the gall bladder.
A year later, aged 70, he is finally back to full health.
A year later, aged 70, Lord Ashcroft is finally back to full health
But his scare made him determined to raise awareness of the disease, alongside the UK Sepsis Trust.
The charity, which is also backed by the Daily Mail, is calling for a nationwide public health campaign to raise awareness of the life-threatening condition.
In January this newspaper reported on the tragic case of William Mead, who died at the age of 12 months in 2014, after a catalogue of errors, misdiagnoses and missed opportunities by doctors and NHS helpline staff.
Lord Ashcroft said: ‘Those of us who are determined to do all we can to highlight the dangers of sepsis have already won over some powerful and influential allies.’
He praised the Daily Mail for ‘highlighting how so many lives are lost needlessly every year to sepsis and how we can all look out for the tell-tell signs of the condition’.
Sepsis affects 150,000 people a year and kills an estimated 44,000, of whom 1,000 are children.
It is usually triggered by an infection – but escalates rapidly, sparking a vicious immune response in which the body attacks its own vital organs.
But despite the severity of the condition, it is very tricky to detect.
It can develop rapidly and needs prompt treatment in hospital with antibiotics.
A national audit, published in November, found delays in diagnosing sepsis in 36 per cent of cases.
And he added: ‘Progress is being made but there is a great deal more work to be done and together we can achieve great things.
‘I am one of the lucky ones – one of those fortunate enough to have had sepsis and survived.’