Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has spoken intimately about the moment his son was give one night left to live, when he battled leukaemia.
Speaking on BLANK podcast with comedian Jim Daly and author Giles Paley-Phillips, 57-year-old Gary revealed the heartbreaking moment when doctors warned that his son George might not make it through the night.
The former England and Tottenham striker's eldest son was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer as a baby.
Gary revealed the dark dreams that haunted him and how he and then wife Michelle felt they were fortunate when George came through and beat the cancer.
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A sober sounding Gary said: "I could cope with it when he was ill as well I could remember us coping whilst I thought there was hope.
"But there was a couple of times when they told us, they said, 'Honestly, we’ve got to warn you that we will be quite surprised if he makes it through the night'."
During this difficult time, Gary said that he didn't ever feel depressed by the situation but he did find himself overcome with fear as to how it would end.
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Gary continued: "It was a different feeling. It wasn’t like a depressing feeling, it was more a… it was a fear and I used to have these awful dreams occasionally, of us carrying a little white coffin."
With other parents having to cope with the loss of their children, Gary said that hope kept them going.
He continued: "I don’t know why but at the same time whilst he was still alive, whilst he was being treated, whilst there was hope I was alright.
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"There were other people in there that weren’t as fortunate as us, that kids didn’t make it.
"We were in there about seven months solid and there are the kids that didn’t make it in that time and when you’re in that environment when they don’t... that was always my fear.
"I do not know whether I would have been able to cope with that, I don’t know how any parent can."
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Despite the odds stacked against him, George battle through. Gary revealed: "While it was always ups and downs and difficult times, there was always hope.
"We didn’t lose him, so, I don’t feel we were dreadfully unfortunate, I think we were unbelievably fortunate, because the odds of him making it were pretty low and he did."
On this occasion there was a happy ending as George eventually made a full recovery and is now 27.
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