Gordon Brown hinted in an announcement last night that he nearly lost his sight whilst acting as Prime Minister in No10 Downing Street.
Gordon Brown
He made the admission in his Kirkcaldy constituency, where he also confirmed rumours that he wouldn't be standing for re-election in May.
Saying goodbye alongside his wife Sarah and young sons Fraser and John, the image was reminiscent of his leave from Downing Street in 2010.
In a speech that was highly personal, he told of the pain he and Sarah faced when they lost their first child Jennifer just shortly after her birth.
He also revealed that problems with his eyesight were more serious than he had previously admitted - the result of a serious rugby accident at the age of 16 which blinded him in one eye. Lengthy treatment saved the sight in his other.
2009 saw medical checks pick up minor retinal tears in Brown's good eye, but at the time he said there was "absolutely no deterioration" in his eyesight.
However last night he admitted that the surgeon who saved his eyesight when he was a teen, Hector Chawla, came to his aid once more.
"When I was in Downing Street and he was retired and they discovered there were tears... he came to help me again."
Praising his wife for her "love and for her support in every campaign we've done", he noted Sarah was "incredible in giving me support and supporting the Labour Party.
Friends insist that Gordon wanted to go out on a high, and his critical intervention in the Scottish Independence Referendum was one of the things that spurred him on to step down from his role.
They did however also claim that he is now harbouring ambitions to take on a final major international role before retiring for good.
After serving in the Commons for over 30 years, he will not take a seat in the Lords and will instead now focus on his role as a UN ambassador for education, as well as his and his wife's other charity work.
Last night, Ed Miliband hailed his predecessor as a "towering figure" for the Labour Party and British politics, and the man who defeated him, David Cameron, said he "wished him well".
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