|
Doctor: Sharon's chances of surviving high
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-08 09:34
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's chances of surviving his severe stroke
are very high, but his ability to think and reason have been damaged, one of his
surgeons said Saturday.
The 77-year-old Israeli leader remained in critical condition, though his
vital signs were stable and a brain scan Saturday showed a slight reduction in
swelling.
Doctors are to decide Sunday when to begin lifting Sharon's medically induced
coma to examine the severity of the brain damage.
"Tomorrow is the day of truth," Dr. Jose Cohen, one of Sharon's surgeons,
told Channel 2 TV. "Tomorrow we will all know if what we did for him helped him
or not."
Cohen said he was "quite optimistic" about Sharon's prospects for survival,
which he said were "very high now."
But when asked about possible cognitive impairment, Cohen replied, "To say
after such a severe trauma as this that there will be no cognitive problems is
simply not to recognize the reality."
Cohen's comments appeared on Channel 2 as a transcript broadcast on the
screen. He did not appear himself. It was not immediately possible to contact
Cohen by phone, and Sharon's other surgeon, Dr. Felix Umansky, declined to be
interviewed.
The comments reinforced a widespread assumption that Sharon will never return
to power. Israelis from all walks of life have lamented Sharon's likely
departure from the political scene. With his larger-than life persona and
warrior credentials, he was seen as the man most capable of disentangling the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
When waking Sharon out of his coma, doctors will be "looking for some sort of
response," the Hadassah Hospital director, Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, told
journalists outside. "If there is no response, that would be bad news."
Asked whether Sharon's life could be saved, Mor-Yosef replied, "We believe
it's possible."
Sharon, who experienced a mild stroke on Dec. 18, felt weak Wednesday and was
being rushed by ambulance to Hadassah from his ranch in southern Israel when a
blood vessel on the right side of his brain burst, causing massive cerebral
hemorrhaging.
He has undergone surgery twice to stop bleeding in the brain and to relieve
pressure inside his skull. Although doctors treating him have not offered a
prognosis, outside experts have said the outlook is grim. Aides said they do not
expect Sharon to return to the prime minister's office.
Before his collapse, Sharon appeared headed to win a third term in office at
the head of Kadima, a new, centrist party he formed to build on the momentum
created by his seminal summer withdrawal of soldiers and settlers from the Gaza
Strip.
Although Israel and the Palestinians have not managed to use the withdrawal
as a springboard for the immediate revival of stalled peace talks, there had
been hope that the process would resume after Palestinian elections in January
and Israeli balloting in March.
It's far from clear if any of Sharon's potential successors would have the
charisma, credibility and can-do spirit that helped the prime minister begin
carrying out the historic task of drawing Israel's final borders.
King Abdullah of Jordan telephoned acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
on Saturday to express "hope that the Mideast peace process would not be
affected by any circumstances and developments surrounding Ariel Sharon's
illness," Jordan's official Petra news agency reported.
At synagogues throughout Israel, worshippers set aside political differences
and recited a "mi sheberach" for Sharon — a prayer of well wishes. Israelis
called out "Ariel, son of Vera," his mother's name.
David Zvuluni, huddled with three other worshippers outside his Jerusalem
synagogue, said he opposed Sharon's Gaza withdrawal, but at this moment wished
him only well.
"I don't believe there's a synagogue in the country that's not praying for
Sharon," he said. "There are just a few lunatics, but the rest of the people of
Israel are all praying for him, even those, like us, who opposed him."
Israelis also gathered outside Hadassah on Saturday to express their
solidarity.
"We are waiting for a miracle," said Eli Grossman, 51, of Kfar Saba, a Tel
Aviv suburb.
"For three days I have felt I had to do this, and today, I had the chance,"
said Rachel Buznak, 55, who lives in Lod, outside Tel Aviv. "I really respect
and admire this man. ... He didn't live for himself, just for the
state."
|
