surgeons told Israeli television Saturday, January 7, that the leader’s chances of survival had increased, but he warned his ability to think and reason may have been damaged.
There was a slight improvement in the condition of 77-year-old Sharon, who has been in a "seduced coma" since Thursday, January 5, following a massive stroke, Dr. Jose Cohen told Channel 2 TV.
Cohen was "quite optimistic" about Sharon’s prospects for survival, which he said were "very high now." But he cautioned that "to say that after such a severe trauma as this that there will be no cognitive problems is simply not to recognize the reality."
Earlier the director of Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein-Kerem Hospital, Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, told reporters that Sharon underwent a scan Saturday to determine the condition of his brain after he was rushed to the operation room Friday, January 6, to stop bleeding.
"According to the result of the CT scan, there is a slight improvement in the edema of the brain of the prime minister," said Dr. Mor Yosef. "The left side of the brain looks better than the right side of the brain."
"DAY OF TRUTH"
Doctors believe this is a good sign as the left side of the brain enables a person to talk. But Cohen said that Sunday, January 8, would be the "day of truth," as doctors will decide when to begin lifting Sharon’s medically induced coma to examine the severity of the brain damage.
However his aids and commentators have already suggested that they do not expect him to return to power. News of his latest medical condition came as Israel’s chief rabbis instructed synagogues around the country to hold special prayers for the prime minister.
"We pray, may it be the will of our Father in heaven, that God will send His mercy to Ariel Sharon, to his family and to all those who are caring for him in this hour of great distress," he said. The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), a Christian group supporting Israel, had earlier urged churches and Christians to pray for Sharon.
PEACE PROCESS
Before his collapse, Sharon was expected to win a third term in office at the head of Kadima, a new moderate party aimed at reviving the peace process following Sharon’s decision to withdraw 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 resumption of stalled peace talks, there was hope that the process would resume after Palestinian elections in January and Israel’s ballot in March.
However "We are waiting for a miracle," said Eli Grossman, 51, of Kfar Saba, a Tel Aviv suburb in an interview with The Associated Press (AP) news agency.
"For three days I have felt I had to do this, and today, I had the chance," added 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." (With reports from Israel).
