I put some passages in bold for emphasis. /mt


Meghan Markle's desperately ill father has sent a heartfelt message to his daughter, pleading: 'I don't want to die estranged.'

Thomas Markle, 81, appealed to the Duchess of Sussex to see him 'one more time before I die' as he lay in his hospital bed following the amputation of his left leg below the knee.

He told The Mail On Sunday that he also dreamed of seeing son-in-law Prince Harry and grandchildren Archie, six, and Lilibet, four, 'before it's too late'.

Mr Markle underwent the drastic, but life-saving surgery in a Philippines hospital on Wednesday.

One of his doctors told this newspaper – with his patient's express permission – that the surgery was a matter of 'life or death'.

The surgeon said: 'We had to remove the foot. There was a massive blood clot in his thigh and that had stopped circulation to his foot and lower leg.

'It was life-or-death surgery. Had the infection in the foot moved to his heart, it would most likely have been fatal. He is doing well but he is not out of the woods yet.'

Mr Markle told this newspaper that he was 'confused' by widespread reports that his daughter had 'reached out' to contact him following his serious health scare.

The ailing pensioner said he purposely did not change his number after their rift 'so she could always get in touch with me' but said he did not receive any messages from her last week.

With Mr Markle's permission, this newspaper independently confirmed with the hospital that neither their administration office, reception, intensive care unit nor the nurses and doctors attending to Mr Markle had heard from Meghan or her representatives, to the best of their knowledge.

A hospital source told the MoS: 'Mr Markle is a VIP patient. Of course we all know who he is. If Meghan or anyone connected with her had called here we would have known. It is a big hospital by Filipino standards but we all know each other and we all talk.

'We were all confused when we saw the story that the duchess had reached out to her dad. As far as we are aware it didn't happen. We would love to see the duchess here in the Philippines!'

Mr Markle has been estranged from his daughter – who has been promoting the Christmas special of her Netflix show With Love, Meghan which stresses the importance of family love – since her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry.

They famously fell out when he posed for paparazzi photographs ahead of the big day – a misplaced gesture he later explained was a bid to 'improve' his image.

He then had two heart attacks and was unable to walk her down the aisle at St George's Chapel in Windsor. Charles, then Prince of Wales, walked her partway down the aisle, an act which Mr Markle later said 'was incredibly kind'.

Last night, Mr Markle remained in a stable condition in intensive care in a hospital in Cebu, a port city which he moved to at the start of this year in a bid to get away from the 'constant' stories about his daughter and Harry.

Mr Markle is expected to be moved to a regular ward as early as tomorrow.

Posing for a picture in his hospital bed for the MoS, he said he wanted to speak out 'to thank all the well-wishers from around the world who have been sending positive messages for my recovery, particularly the ones from Britain. I am very grateful.'

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15359793/Thomas-Markle-plea-Meghan-hospital-Duchess-leg-amputation.html

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