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Omri Sharon thanks the hospital and the Israeli people. (AP)
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| By Associated Press January 10, 2006 |
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Ariel Sharon showed "improvement" Tuesday in his recovery from a massive stroke, moving his left arm in response to stimulation, but doctors said it would be days before they would be able to assess whether he has lost his ability to think and reason.
Sharon's life was no longer in immediate danger and when his sons spoke to him, he responded with an increase in blood pressure, his doctors said.
"I think compared with recent days ... there are significant changes in the prime minister's condition, but we still have a long way to go, and we have to be patient," said Dr. Yoram Weiss, one of Sharon's anesthesiologists.
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Several media outlets reported that doctors had ordered a shwarma sandwich -- a greasy lamb or turkey dish served in pita bread that Sharon loved to eat -- to stimulate Sharon's sense of smell. A hospital spokesman called the report "folklore." A local shwarma stand confirmed the order, but said the sandwiches were for Sharon's entourage.
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Sharon, 77, suffered a massive stroke last Wednesday and underwent three surgeries to stop hemorrhaging on the right side of his brain. He has been kept in a medically induced coma since the stroke to give him time to recover.
Israelis were stunned by Sharon's stroke, intensely following the news of his condition. Many gathered in synagogues over the Sabbath to offer prayers for his recovery.
Sharon's son Omri came out of the hospital Tuesday to offer his thanks to Israelis, the hospital and the prime minister's doctors.
"I came to thank, in the name of my family, the citizens of Israel, who since Wednesday have supported us with their concern, with warm and loving prayers for the well-being of my father," he said.
Also Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to check on Sharon's condition, according to Olmert's office. Olmert told her he spoke to hospital officials and was encouraged by Sharon's improvement, the statement said. Rice said she was praying for Sharon's recovery, the statement said.
Doctors began decreasing his sedatives Monday and he began breathing on his own and moved his right arm and leg slightly in response to pain stimulation. On Tuesday, his movement on the right side increased and he also moved his left arm in response to stimulation, said Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, the director of Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, where Sharon is being treated.
Movement on Sharon's left side could be very significant because that part of the body is controlled by the right side of the brain, where Sharon's stroke occurred.
Dr. Anthony Rudd, a stroke specialist at St. Thomas' Hospital in London, called the reports "surprising."
"It's certainly better than what I would have predicted so far. Based on the fact that he had a large hemorrhage in the right side of the brain I would have predicted advanced paralysis," Rudd said.
Over the next 24 hours, the doctors will continue decreasing Sharon's sedatives and conducting neurological tests to further assess his brain functions, his doctors said. A final assessment could take several days, until the sedatives have completely worn off, Weiss said.
"There is improvement, but we still can't know the extent of the cognitive improvement," Weiss said. "There are still drugs that could cause us not to see cognitive improvement. We simply need P-A-A-TIE-NCE."
A final medical analysis on Sharon's long-term prognosis would end days of uncertainty over the fate of the prime minister, heralded by many as the best hope for Mideast peace. Despite Sharon's movement, doctors were doubtful he would recover enough to resume his duties.
Sharon remains in critical, but stable condition and his life is no longer in immediate danger, Weiss said. "More metaphorically speaking, we have backed off five yards from the edge of the cliff," he said.
Sharon was staying in a guarded room at the hospital where music, including Mozart and the folk music of Israeli singer Rivka Zohar, was being played.
With Sharon in the hospital, the government was being run by Olmert, who has worked to portray an aura of stability. His first test was the thorny issue of whether to allow Palestinians to vote in the disputed city of Jerusalem during Jan. 25 parliamentary elections.
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Tuesday that Israel would allow the voting in Jerusalem, resolving a dispute that threatened to derail the election. Olmert's office said the decision would have to be approved by the Cabinet on Sunday.
Sharon's doctors also denied a report in the Haaretz daily that the prime minister's doctors had not discovered that Sharon was suffering from a brain disease called cerebral amyloid angiopathy when they treated him from an initial, minor stroke Dec. 18. If doctors had known about the condition earlier, they would not have prescribed the blood thinners, the paper said.
Mor-Yosef said the doctors did know about the condition after his first stroke.
Rudd said the condition is a common cause of bleeding in the brain, particularly in the elderly.
"This protein, amyloid ... is deposited in the walls of the arteries, and it makes the walls of the arteries much more fragile and liable to rupture," he said. "And very often, there is a high risk of recurrent bleeding."
He said the blood thinners would not have caused the hemorrhage but would worsen the bleeding.
As the Israeli media waited for news from the hospital, they scrambled for even the smallest scrap of information about Sharon.
On Tuesday, several media outlets reported that doctors had ordered a shwarma sandwich -- a greasy lamb or turkey dish served in pita bread that Sharon loved to eat -- to stimulate Sharon's sense of smell. A hospital spokesman called the report "folklore."
Avi Abutbul, a manager at Sharon's favorite shwarma stand in Jerusalem, confirmed he had indeed handled an order for Sharon -- but the 10 shwarma sandwiches were for the prime minister's entourage.
Before the stroke, Sharon had been expected to handily win re-election in March 28 parliamentary balloting, then use his third term to try to draw Israel's final borders by pulling out of large parts of the West Bank and completing a separation barrier with the Palestinians.
More clarity on Sharon's condition might enable his new, centrist Kadima Party to select a successor and start campaigning. Olmert -- Sharon's ally and a proponent of unilateral withdrawals from more Palestinian-claimed lands -- is seen as the most likely heir.
Olmert's first diplomatic test was seen as the Jerusalem voting issue.
Israel had been threatening to prevent voting here because of the participation of Hamas, which is committed to Israel's destruction.
But on Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Arab residents of Jerusalem could vote.
"I think the policy of the state of Israel still stands," Mofaz told reporters in Jerusalem. "There will be elections in east Jerusalem."
Olmert said the issue of voting would be put to the Cabinet on Sunday.
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