Israel Matzav

Olmert Trying to Gain Political Advantage from Sharon's Funeral

Israel Matzav

Olmert Trying to Gain Political Advantage from Sharon's Funeral

I got this from Israel Resources News Agency

THIS REPORT IS FROM MIDDLE EAST NEWS LINE, http://www.menewsline.com, A RELIABLE MONTREAL-BASED NEWS AGENCY
DOCTORS ORDERED TO KEEP SHARON IN COMA

JERUSALEM [MENL] -- The family of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered doctors to keep him in a coma.

Sharon was to have been removed from a medically-induced coma on Jan. 6, government sources said. But Sharon's family and aides objected and ordered that the prime minister remain comatose for as long as possible in the hope that he would survive a massive stroke.

"He's on life-support systems and he's in a deep coma," a government source said. "If he was anybody else, the plug would have been pulled and he would have been declared dead."

On Sunday, physicians at Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital planned to again seek permission from Sharon's two sons to end the coma. The physicians said this could determine whether three brain operations in as many days succeeded in saving the prime minister's life [The Jerusalem Post is currently reporting that a decision on removing the coma "is being delayed" CiJ].

"If there is no response, that would be bad news," Hadassah director Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef said. On Jan. 6, Israeli authorities were informed that Sharon was dead and placed on alert for the removal of his body. But the sources said Sharon's family insisted that he remain on life-support systems despite quiet contacts with the United States over funeral arrangements.

The sources said Sharon's chief aide, Dov Weisglass, has sought the attendance of President George Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for the prime minister's funeral. On Jan. 6, Ms. Rice canceled a trip to Asia to prepare for the prospect of Sharon's death.

"It is very important for Bush to attend the funeral and later meet with [Vice Premier] Ehud Olmert," a source said. "It would be a sign of Bush's friendship and respect for Sharon and his path." [In other words, Bush is being asked to intervene in Israeli politics on Olmert's behalf, because Olmert is one of the least popular senior politicians in the country. How long do you think it will take before everyone else in contention for the Kadima leadership is up in arms? CiJ] Sharon's elder son, Omri, was said to have played the key role in determining medical treatment for his father. The sources said Omri, regarded as the second most powerful politician in Israel, [and on his way to jail for corruption. CiJ] ordered physicians to operate on his father when he was rushed to the hospital with a massive cerebral hemorrhage on Jan. 4. The prime minister had been scheduled to undergo heart surgery the following day.

On Dec. 18, Sharon, 77, sustained a minor stroke, which resulted in a two-day hospital stay. Several days later, the prime minister, running for reelection, returned to work in an attempt to quell concerns over his health.

"Sharon was allowed to do things that very few people in his medical situation would have gotten away with," a physician familiar with the treatment the prime minister received said. "He was allowed to leave the hospital and return to work within days of his stroke, even though the chance of recurrence was high."

The physician said Sharon was given an excessive dosage of blood thinner, which he said exacerbated the second stroke. [This is the first talk I have seen about an excessive dosage. CiJ] He said the prime minister's chance of recovery was nil.

"Sharon's doctors were the best in the world and the treatment was the best," the physician said. "But there were major mistakes made, particularly after the first stroke."

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Here's what Sharon's doctor has to say about his chances for recovery:

The chances that Sharon will survive his massive stroke are "very high. He is a very strong man, and he is getting the best care," Dr. Jose Cohen, the neurosurgeon who has performed three operations on Sharon, said on Saturday.

Cohen warned, however, that the prime minister remained in serious condition, and noted: "He will not continue to be prime minister, but maybe he will be able to understand and to speak."

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:40 AM