Castro Improving

HAVANA (AP) – Fidel Castro’s recovery from intestinal surgery 10 months ago was delayed because the first of several operations he had went badly, the communist leader said in a statement that gave the most detailed account of his health since August.Mr. Castro, 80, said in the Wednesday statement that he is now eating solid food and improving after “many months” of intravenous feeding. It was the most information released about Mr. Castro’s condition since his Aug. 13 birthday, when he asked Cubans to be optimistic but not rule out possible “adverse news.”“It was not just one operation, but various,” Mr. Castro wrote in the statement that the government sent to international media by e-mail. “Initially it was not successful and that had a bearing on my prolonged recuperation.”Expected to be published in state newspapers and read on radio and television broadcasts on Thursday, the statement did not say when Mr. Castro might appear in public again or resume Cuba’s presidency.“Today I receive orally everything my recuperation requires,” the convalescing leader wrote.Mr. Castro stunned Cuba and the world on July 31 when he was announced he had undergone intestinal surgery for intestinal bleeding and was temporarily ceding power to his 75-year-old brother Raul, the defense minister.He has not been seen in public since and his condition and exact ailment have been state secrets, though top officials have insisted he is recuperating steadily. He is widely believed to suffer from diverticular disease, a condition that forms sacs in the intestine that can become inflamed and bleed.A January story in the Spanish newspaper El Pais described Mr. Castro as being in “very grave” condition after at least three failed operations for diverticular disease. The Cuban government denied that report.“I tell everyone simply that I am getting better and maintain a stable weight of about 80 kilograms (176 pounds),” Mr. Castro said Wednesday, adding that the greatest risks to him now are age and the effects of not taking proper care of his health over the years.As he recovers in an undisclosed location, Mr. Castro has been seen wearing a track suit in photographs and videos released occasionally by state media. He looked gaunt in the earlier images, but appeared more robust in more recent pictures.“I don’t have time now for films and photos that require me to constantly cut my hair, beard and mustache, and get spruced up every day,” he said, evidently referring to the preparation required for some of the official images.Life on the island has changed little since Mr. Castro stepped aside, and many Cubans no longer worry that their “maximum leader” is at death’s door.His comments on his health came in the second half of a statement about food production. It was the 11th written communique signed by Mr. Castro in recent weeks, most of them lashing out at American-backed plans to use food crops to produce biofuels.“For now, I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, reflecting and writing about questions that I judge of certain importance and transcendence,” the latest one said. “I have a lot more material to go.”Loyalists were sorely disappointed on May 1 when Mr. Castro did not make his traditional appearance at Cuba’s annual workers parade.Two weeks after he first fell ill, Cubans received a sober greeting from Mr. Castro saying he faced a long recovery from surgery.“To affirm that the recovery period will take a short time and that there is no risk would be absolutely incorrect,” that statement said.In an apparent reference to those earlier words, Castro said in Wednesday’s statement that “my compatriots don’t like having me explain on more than one occasion that the recovery is not free of risks.”

Castro Improving

Castro Improving

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