Rudy Giuliani is out of the intensive care unit, but the former New York City mayor isn't leaving the hospital just yet. After days of fighting for his life, he's now breathing on his own—and talking.
The man who once took down the Mafia, saved New York City, and ran toward the burning towers on 9/11 is now waging a very different kind of battle. And those closest to him say he's winning.
"The power of prayer is working," said a close adviser. "The mayor feels it."
Giuliani, 81, was rushed to the hospital on Sunday in critical condition. Severe breathing issues had overtaken him after a trip to Paris, and his lungs were failing so fast that doctors placed him on a ventilator.
At one point, his condition turned so dire that a priest was called to his bedside to perform last rites. Family and friends braced for the worst.
But by Tuesday, something shifted. Doctors removed the ventilator. He began breathing independently. He started speaking.
"He's a fighter," his doctor said. "Yesterday he was in critical condition, and today he's doing much better. This guy has nine lives."
Giuliani's health has been fragile for years. He was diagnosed with restrictive airway disease after being exposed to toxic debris at Ground Zero following the September 11 attacks. Last August, a car crash in New Hampshire left him with a fractured vertebra and deep lacerations.
Yet through it all, the former mayor has remained in public life, defying the odds time and again.
"He's the same fighter he's always been," a longtime associate said. "And he's winning this fight."
