Arafat’s condition worsens
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CLAMART, France (AP) — Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is in a coma and his condition worsened overnight, a hospital spokesman said Tuesday, as Palestinian officials sought to visit their critically ill leader over his wife’s angry objections.
The announcement by Gen. Christian Estripeau, spokesman for the Percy Military Training Hospital outside Paris, was the first time the French medical team treating Arafat publicly acknowledged the 75-year-old is in a coma.
“President Yasser Arafat’s health worsened in the night,” said Estripeau.
“His coma, which led to his admission to the intensive-care unit, became deeper this morning.”
Estripeau said doctors were withholding a prognosis but his deterioration marked “a significant stage.”
The announcement came amid a dramatic dispute between Arafat’s wife, Suha, and Palestinian officials whom she accused of trying to usurp the veteran leader. The Palestinians, including top Arafat lieutenants Ahmed Qureia and Mahmoud Abbas, flew to Paris late Monday.
The delegation asked to see Arafat and to meet with doctors treating him, said a Palestinian official in Paris who refused to be further identified.
He said the officials want a complete detailed report about Arafat’s condition and to know exactly what is wrong with him. The official said with the exception of Suha, the only person who has been able to see Arafat is his nephew Nasser Al-Kidwa — and he was reported to have seen his uncle only once.
The Palestinians planned meetings throughout the day Tuesday with French officials, including President Jacques Chirac and Foreign Minister Michel Barnier.
A coma is a profound state of unconsciousness. Patients are alive but unable to move or respond to their environment. There are several levels of coma and patients may, or may not, progress through them. The responsiveness of the brain lessens as the coma deepens and when it becomes more profound, normal body reflexes are lost and the patient no longer responds even to pain.
The chances of recovery depend on the severity of the underlying cause. It is unclear whether a deeper coma alone necessarily means a slimmer chance of recovery because some people in deep coma recover well while others in a so-called milder coma sometimes fail to improve.