Tennis:Serena Williams returns to action in Eastbourne after a year out with injuries and illness that she claims left her on her "death bed".
Williams has not played since winning her fourth crown at Wimbledon last year after badly cutting her foot while coming out of a German restaurant.
The 29-year-old was then hospitalised with blood clots on her lung which she believes developed due to having to wear a cast for 20 weeks to protect her foot.
But she is mounting her comeback a week before the third grand slam of the year at the All England club and is bringing a new perspective with her.
"I was on my death bed at one point - quite literally. I've had a serious illness but at first I didn't appreciate that," she said ahead of her return match against Tsvetana Pironkova.
"At first people said it would be fine, it would be all right but it turned out to be a lot more serious. If it had been left two days later it could have been career-ending - or even worse.
"They told me I had several blood clots in both lungs. A lot of people die from that.
"It got to the stage where it felt like I could hardly breathe. Some days I didn't get out of bed at all. I just laid on a couch thinking why has this happened to me?
"The second surgery was tough, more mentally tough than a lot of things I've been through including my sister dying. It's why this is a comeback that's totally different from any other comeback.
"Because this has given me a whole new perspective on life and my career - and not taking anything for granted. I'm just taking one day at a time. I'm not preparing for today or for Wimbledon. I'm preparing for the rest of my career."
Williams, who is now down at number 25 in the world rankings, returned to the practice court last month but concedes she has no idea how she will fare when she returns to WTA Tour competition.
She added: "I'm so excited to be back playing. I'm not quite sure how I'll feel until I play a match. I've been hitting seriously for about a month now but before that I was not hitting every day.
"I wanted to play at Roland Garros but that didn't work out. I don't usually play warm-ups for Wimbledon but I figured it would be smart to do so this time and what better place to come to for that than Eastbourne.
"I'm just here to do the best I can but I'm also here not to lose."