Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is reportedly on track to make a “miracle” recovery after he was hospitalized in critical condition with pneumonia this past weekend.
The 81-year-old was admitted to a hospital in the West Palm Beach, Florida, area last weekend after experiencing severe respiratory distress. A source familiar with the former mayor’s condition told Newsmax that the initial phase of his illness over the weekend was “touch and go.” However, the recovery in the days that followed was characterized as “remarkable.”
Doctors plan to continue monitoring Giuliani closely after his release from intensive care. Individuals familiar with his condition have expressed growing optimism about his outlook.
Giuliani’s primary care provider, Dr. Maria Ryan, provided a further update on his progress. She noted that Giuliani had been in critical condition and that a priest had administered last rites, a Catholic sacrament often given to those at risk of dying.
“He’s a fighter — the way he was yesterday in such a critical condition, he did have a priest come anoint him. And all the prayers from around — it’s like a miracle. This guy’s got nine lives, today he’s doing much better,” the doctor said.
Spokesman Ted Goodman issued several statements on behalf of Giuliani and his family, in which he reported that Giuliani “is now breathing on his own, with his family and primary medical provider at his side.”
Giuliani’s hospitalization stemmed from a diagnosis of double pneumonia that rapidly progressed into a life-threatening medical emergency. The condition was complicated by his pre-existing restrictive airway disease, which developed following his exposure to dust and debris while aiding first responders at the World Trade Center site on September 11, 2001.
This underlying respiratory issue caused the infection to overwhelm his system more quickly than it might have otherwise.
He required placement on a ventilator to assist with breathing during the most acute phase of his illness. Initial reports on May 3 and 4 indicated that he was in critical but stable condition. By early in the week, updates confirmed he had been taken off the ventilator and was breathing independently.
The episode occurred several months after Giuliani sustained injuries in a car accident in August 2025, including a fractured thoracic vertebra. Prior to the hospitalization, he had hosted his online program on the Friday evening before admission, noting that his voice was “a little under the weather.”
Goodman emphasized that Giuliani is still under observation and asked supporters to “keep the prayers coming.”
