|
By Jefferson Antiporda, Reporter
Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo,
the President’s husband, has a 75 to 80 percent chance of full
recovery after surviving the 48-hour critical period, his doctor
said on Thursday.
Dr. Juliet Gopez-Cervantes said
Mr. Arroyo’s condition was stable and all his vital organs were
functioning normally.
“Compared to his situation
yesterday [Wednesday] his condition has improved. We are just
monitoring his kidneys and lungs,” Cervantes said.
She said Arroyo could get out of
bed and start walking again in seven days if his condition continued
to improve.
Arroyo had an aneurysmectomy and
a triple bypass operation on Tuesday at the St. Luke’s Medical
Center in Quezon City.
Dr. Rommel Cariño, who performed
the operation, said Arroyo’s condition was stable but he still has
to undergo dialysis for five days.
“He still has a ventilator
[breathing equipment] and we hope we could remove it by tomorrow
[Friday] . . . ” Cervantes said, adding that Arroyo has been
continuously writing notes to his family.
Arroyo received a blood
transfusion Wednesday and was undertaking continuous dialysis.
Doctors had said he had a
“close call” and the situation could have been worst if there
was a delay in bringing him to hospital.
Some members of the medical team
had said Arroyo had a 50-50 chance of recovery, because of
complications the operation could bring.
Cervantes said doctors will start
Arroyo’s “bedside rehabilitation” after the respirator is
removed.
During bedside rehabilitation,
doctors will try to help him move parts of his body until all life
support tubes attached to his body are removed, Cervantes said.
An improvement of the kidney
function “will ultimately lead to a complete improvement of the
lungs. So, the lungs are just reacting to the kidney, which took the
brunt of the surgery,” she said.
Arroyo’s kidneys suffered
“acute insult” after the blood circulation was cut off during
the surgery. Cervantes said the “dialysis is taking over the
function of the kidneys” but “chances of recovery are very
high.”
President Arroyo left the
hospital for the first time since her husband’s confinement to
meet Cabinet members and businessmen but was back at St. Luke’s
after three hours.
Reporters who saw her leave
through a side entrance said the President appeared tired.
Since her husband was admitted on
Monday night, the President has been working from a makeshift office
set up in the hospital.
A DZMM report said Malacañang
officials could not yet say if the President will postpone her trip
to China to attend a business conference scheduled from April 20 to
25. They said the decision would still have to depend on the
condition of her husband.
Mrs. Arroyo said she still has to
consult the Department of Foreign Affairs about the China trip.
The President also said she was
doing “OK” as she thanked the people who offered their prayers
for the quick recovery of her husband.
--Jefferson Antiporda
and ABS-CBN Interactive
|
