Jimmy Carr says he nearly died as a child after being diagnosed with a deadly condition, giving him his 'appreciation for life'.
The TV funnyman "nearly didn't make it" after being diagnosed with meningitis as a toddler, leaving the then-youngster "close to death".
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The 51-year-old was hospitalised in Ireland and detailed the experience on the Where There's A Will, There's A Wake podcast with Kathy Burke.
He said: "You've got to be cruel to be kind … I think that is the first thing I ever said that my mother thought was funny.
"I had meningitis when I was a child. So my first memory is a lumbar puncture in Limerick in the General [hospital].
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"I was three, I think, and… I was always told it was very close to death. The doctor sort of went, 'It's going to be very painful.' And somehow I'd heard the phrase, and I went, 'You've got to be cruel to be kind,' in a little child's voice," Jimmy explained.
Per the NHS, meningitis "can be very serious if not treated quickly".
Jimmy joked about life after his health battle, telling Kathy: "I want my kids and the people that love me to tell stories like, 'Oh, Jimmy died… funny story.
"He flew to South Africa and he went on one of those great shark cage experiences and he forgoed the cage. He said, no cage for me, thanks. I'll just jump in there with a fish.'
"And I was ravaged by sharks. That would be a way to go."
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