Rudy Giuliani has been released from the intensive care unit, but is continuing to recover in the hospital following a bout of pneumonia.

The former New York City mayor, 81, contracted the respiratory illness on Sunday, when he started to feel sick upon returning from a trip to Paris.

One day later, it was revealed that the man once called 'America's Mayor' had previously been diagnosed with restrictive airway disease - a condition his spokesman said was linked to Giuliani's proximity to Ground Zero on the day of the September 11 terrorist attacks and in the days and weeks after.

The condition can make respiratory illnesses like pneumonia even more life threatening, and after Giuliani was rushed to the hospital and put on a ventilator, a Catholic priest was even called to his bed to perform the last rites at the Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.

But soon, Giuliani was able to breathe by himself and was taken off the ventilator, a well-placed source told The Daily Mail.

He was even able to communicate with his children, Caroline and Andrew Giuliani.

By Wednesday night, Giuliani was out of the Intensive Care Unit, his spokesman Ted Goodman shared online.

'The mayor and his family appreciate the outpouring of love and prayers sent his way,' Goodman posted on X.

'Mayor Giuliani - the man who took down the Mafia, saved New York City and ran toward the towers on September 11th - is the same fighter he's always been, and he's winning this fight,' he continued.

'The power of prayer is working. The mayor feels it. We feel it. Please keep them coming for America's Mayor, Rudy Giuliani,' Goodman added.

Giuliani was elected New York’s mayor in 1993 after serving as one of the nation’s highest-profile prosecutors, taking on mobsters and crooked Wall Street traders. 

He was celebrated for a widespread crackdown on crime using the 'broken windows' philosophy and implementing the controversial stop-and-frisk program.

Giuliani ran for the Senate in 2000 but abandoned his race against Hillary Clinton after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

'Mayor Rudy Giuliani was the most transformative figure in the history of NY City politics,' former deputy FBI director Dan Bongino wrote. 

'He pulled off an economic and public safety miracle in a relatively short amount of time, and the city rose from the dead. I worked for the NYPD during the end of his second term. It was the honor of a lifetime.'

But it was his leadership during the September 11 terrorist attack in New York City that catapulted him to the national spotlight.

Giuliani had been just two blocs away when the first tower fell that day, and oversaw the cleanup of the collapsed World Trade Center building in the aftermath.

He even made frequent visits to Ground Zero in the first three months after the attack, but was rarely seen wearing a mask. 

The former mayor is now applying for free medical care through a federal program for emergency workers and others exposed to toxins following the September 11 terrorist attacks, according to The New York Times. 

'I'm proud to represent him and get him the health care he deserves,' said attorney Michael Barasch, who explained he is representing Giuliani in his application to enroll in the World Trade Center Health Program 'so he can enjoy the same benefits of healthcare at no cost to people who have been certified with 9/11 illnesses.' 

More than 152,000 people have been enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program, which pays for medical research and provides free medical care to those affected by terrorist attacks.

Beneficiaries have access to doctors who specialize in September 11-related illnesses, and the patients covered under the program do not have to make copayments or deductibles.

In the past year, the program paid out more than 600,000 medical claims at a cost of nearly $350 million. Most of those claims related to cancers, but others received treatments for respiratory ailments as well.

Giuliani had spoken out in support of the measure in 2010, and criticized fellow Republicans for their opposition.

In more recent years, Giuliani campaigned with President Donald Trump and a group of Republicans to overturn the 2020 election results, citing unverified fraud that later opened him up to defamation suits he settled in court.

He gave an infamous speech outside the Four Seasons landscaping business in Pennsylvania as Trump desperately attempted to claw back the presidency.

Giuliani was pardoned by Trump, among other Republicans, in November of last year for his role in trying to overturn the election against President Biden.

But his legal battles have been costly, leading Giuliani to file for bankruptcy with staggering debts of $153 million owed to creditors in 2023, including two Georgia election workers he defamed. 

If he is now certified by the World Trade Center Health Program as someone who suffered from a September 11-related illness, Giuliani or his family may also be able to seek compensation from the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund - which compensates people for physical harm or death related to the terrorist attacks.