New Bedford Mayor’s Behind-the-Scenes Help in Chris McCarthy’s COVID Battle

WBSM midday host Chris McCarthy has been forthright about being on the edge of the rim of death in his battle with COVID-19, and the difference people who've stuck by his side have made to his recovery.

He includes New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell as one of those who have made a very big difference, especially as he now battles kidney failure as a result of his COVID bout.

"The reason I'm alive is because of God, prayer, modern medicine and people like Jon and Ann Mitchell," he spelled out irrefutably on the air this morning.

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He's referring not only to the mayor but also to his wife, Dr. Ann Partridge, a professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School and a breast oncologist at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. On a daily basis, Mayor Mitchell decides on official issues that affect the lives of the general public. We know he has to weigh the decisions he makes about the COVID-19 pandemic with the governance of the people of New Bedford. But when Mitchell is at home with his family, we're not privy to non-official, personal decisions he makes that also have an impact on people.

"I'll tell you a great story about Jon and Ann," McCarthy said. "They know I'm at Mass General because my kidneys are failing. All kinds of doctors have been coming in and out of my room, but one, who reminded me of a real angel, pops in and says that she's a close friend of the Mitchells and they asked her to drop by and check up on me. She said, 'I'm here to do anything I can for you.'"

It wasn't just that Mitchell and Partridge were sending yet another doctor, either.

"Turns out, she's not only a top doctor at Mass General and Harvard Medical School, but she's also a kidney specialist that I'm in need of," McCarthy said. "Jon and Ann don't just send a bouquet of flowers, they send solutions. It makes a grown man cry."

Chris McCarthy self-reflected, " I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for everyone's prayers, and that's the God's honest truth."

As for a rare peak into the private side of two very public people, McCarthy brought to light a side of the mayor that not everyone considers when criticizing the decisions a leader has to make.

"This has been an incredible journey, and this may sound strange to people, but I came very close to dying," McCarthy said, choking up. "But for the blessings from God and friends like Jon and Ann, I'm going to live."