Boris Johnson admitted to hospital

Iam64 - I agree entirely. The austerity experiment was wholly unnecessary and caused so much suffering; and its legacy will continue to do so for a long time.

Labaik - we can only live in hope that the failed austerity experiment is well and truly over. On the bright side, we have the beginnings of an effective opposition now the LP has a leader who seems able to lead.

I have been wondering if, being treated by the NHS hospital after all the things he's done to them might have resulted in him having some sort of damascene moment.

.Din you are a little wag ♥️

Suzie I was hoping he might be a changed person!

Din you’re mixing him up with someone who understands loyalty, appreciation and gratitude. Why would he treat the NHS any better than he’s treated his various wives/mistresses/ women/children.

I'm pleased that BJ is on the road to recovery. One good thing that should come out of his stay in hospital is that he can no longer go along with the Right's plans for further privatisation by subterfuge and keeping the NHS short of funds.

Sparkling- sorry if some of our comments upset you. I agree with Emily Maitlis who says we won't survive this disease through fortitude and strength of character.
You're right about a positive stoic approach to disease though. Many of us have auto immune conditions that significantly impact our lives. There are times when we just want to stay in bed with a duvet over our heads. It makes such a difference though, to get up and make the best of the day. That sounds to be the way your husband coped.

I believe Emily Maitlis brought this up at the start of Newsnight where she said that this virus is not a great leveller;" You do not survive this disease through fortitude and strength of character "
Her words are recorded in several newspapers, on You Tube
and are well worth looking at.

I’m so sorry to hear that Sparkling, that you lost your husband when he was only 60 is very, very sad. My sister lost her husband when he was 64 and she was 60, she felt their looked forward to retirement was lost.
As I said in my last post, my husband shakes off infections easily, but this doesn’t make him a fighter, he just has the right genes. It doesn’t make me a non fighter because I frequently pick up infections, I’m just unlucky with regard to that.
for you, apologies if I was insensitive, I didn’t mean to be.

Sparkling don't get upset and I'm sorry about your DH.
I should have said I dislike the term myself, just as MissA says.
Also the faux sympathy with head on one side and the 'oh so sympathetic' smile really grates.

It was I who used the term fighter, to mean that he would do his best, no more no less.
My late husband was stoic all through his very painful and debilitating cancer treatment, kept his sense of humour, saying this won't beat me, he kept positive despite the evidence. He died at aged 60. It is not meant to imply that someone who dies of an incurable illness is weak or not a fighter. I find this nit picking and finding offence so hurtful and petty. It is usually picked on to start a political discussion.
This post is about Boris who like thousands of others with the grace of God and the medical profession will pull through, whilst we know that sone with no underlying conditions don't. The medical profession don't know why do can we.

Sorry, I hope this isn't horribly insensitive but Smile or Die by -Barbara-Ehrenreich-is a good read about the incessant drive to be positive and " fight" terrible illness.

Ah, thank you both.

janipat thank you. I'm glad you're ok now

This thread has some twists and turns, doesn't it?

My sincere sympathies Miss Adventure that's a terrible loss. I've had cancer 3 times and found it embarrassing and upsetting to be told I was a fighter who'd beaten it before and would do again. I got lucky, I'm so sorry your daughter didn't.

Oh no. You poor thing. How desperately sad. ??

Oh dear, jane10
She died.

That was a bit awkward, sorry.

Aww MissAdventure. Your poor daughter. What a shame. As if things weren't bad enough for her. I hope she's better now.

Whatever! I still believe it's an inappropriate and insensitive word.

Maybe saying that people who are very ill are "fighters" is just a way of saying that they have a strong will to live. Sometimes, when someone has lived with an illness for a very long time, they become tired and don't want to "fight" anymore. Obviously this isn't the case in BJ's case but it's just a thought.

I'm with other posters on this. I cringed when Raab said Johnson was a "fighter", as though a recovery will indicate some positive character trait. It doesn't. It also implies that anybody who dies from an illness is cowardly, which is blatantly untrue and upsetting.

Oh yes, the ‘fighter’ image. If it was that easy to ‘fight off’ disease then we’d all live forever, wouldn’t we?

I hate it in regard to cancer too.

People who have this virus cannot fight it, but those who are caring for them are, I think, fighting for them.

I can remember my daughter crying about that term, saying she felt embarrassed and a bit ashamed that her cancer came back.

vegansrock Agree 100% with the whole "fighter" thing, and one which those of us who have had cancer can surely relate to. It's such an insult to those that don't make it to imply they just didn't try hard enough.