Jimmy Carr has revealed he "nearly didn't make it" after being diagnosed with meningitis.
Jimmy Carr was 'close to death' as a toddler
The 51-year-old comedian was still a toddler when he found himself "close to death" while being treated for the disease at a hospital in Ireland, and surviving the illness gave him an appreciation for life.
Appearing 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].
"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."
The '8 Out of 10 Cats' host's love for being alive came from that experience, as his family told him how he almost died.
He added: "And I kind of appreciated that thing of life, because I was always told, 'Oh, you nearly didn’t make it.' "
According to the NHS, meningitis is an "infection of the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord (meninges)".
They health organisation adds: "It can affect anyone, but is most common in babies, young children, teenagers and young adults.
"Meningitis can be very serious if not treated quickly."
As part of his appearance on 'Where There's A Will, There's A Wake', Jimmy also reflected on how he'd like to die.
He quipped: "I want my kids and the people that love me to [be able to tell a story 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."
He has actually been up close with a reef shark in the past, after one "flipped around" to face him while he was with a friend in Key West.
He said: "We’d been swimming with these small sharks all day and we slightly misjudged the size of this thing. It was enormous and it flipped around and came at us."
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