Sharon to be gradually woken

2006-01-08 19:51

Jerusalem - Doctors treating Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will begin waking him from a medically induced coma from Monday morning, a hospital spokesperson said, describing his condition as critical but stable.

"As of tomorrow morning, we will gradually reduce the depth of the anaesthesia, then we will be able to evaluate the neurological function of the prime minister's brain," Shlomo Mor Yosef, director of the Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem, told reporters.

Mor Yosef said the latest scan on the 77-year-old prime minister had shown signs of an improvement in his condition after a massive brain haemorrhage suffered on Wednesday.

"To sum up the situation is still critical but stable with an improvement in the CT (computed tomography) scan."

"All the other vital signs are within normal limit and the... fever is also within normal limit," he said.

Mor Yosef said that in 24 hours time, doctors would be able to provide more information on the functioning of the ailing prime minister's brain following his gradual re-awakening.

"This is what we have all been waiting for since Wednesday, to see how the prime minister's brain is functioning," he said.

- AFP