Posted on 05/24/2007 5:07:40 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
HAVANA - Fidel Castro has gained weight and is getting better, but grumbled about having to cut his hair and trim his beard for official photos in a personal report on his condition published Thursday in state media.
The 80-year-old leader wrote frankly about just how sick has been, undergoing several emergency surgeries, the first of which did not go well.
"It wasn't just one operation, but various. Initially it wasn't successful and that had a bearing on my prolonged recuperation," wrote Castro, who has not been seen in public for nearly 10 months.
He gave no indication of how long it will take to get back to full health or whether he will resume the presidential duties he handed to his 75-year-old brother Raul last July 31.
In fact, he seemed in no hurry, comfortable with the role of elder statesmen and behind-the-scenes columnist who pens dense essays on global issues.
"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," Castro wrote in the statement carried on the front pages of Cuba's official newspapers and read on state radio and television. "I have a lot more material to go."
He has written 11 such essays in recent weeks, most of them blasting U.S.-backed plans to use food crops to produce biofuels. Even Thursday's report, titled "For the Deaf Who Don't Want to Hear," began with an analysis about world grain production before delving into his health more than halfway through.
"I tell everyone simply that I am getting better and maintain a stable weight of about 80 kilograms (176 pounds)," Castro wrote. He said the greatest risks now are his age and the effects of not taking proper care of his health over the years.
He also complained about the "films and photos that require me to constantly cut my hair, beard and mustache and get spruced up every day," evidently referring to the preparation required for some of the official images released since his illness.
Castro has worn a track suit in the photographs and videos released occasionally by state media. The convalescing leader looked gaunt in the earlier images, but appeared more robust in recent ones.
"For many months, I depended on IVs and catheters through which I received an important part of my nourishment," he wrote. "Today I receive orally all I require for recuperation."
Castro's condition and exact ailment have been state secrets, though top officials have insisted he is recovering 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 Castro as being in "very grave" condition after at least three failed operations for diverticular disease. The Cuban government denied that report.
Life on the island has changed little under Raul Castro, who lacks his brother's larger-than-life charisma but has a reputation as a solid administrator and hard-line enforcer.
Many Cubans seem to have accepted the fact that their "maximum leader" may not return to the presidency.
Castro's statement "clarified things about the state of his health," middle-aged worker Domingo Magranet said, but it remain "very difficult" to judge what role the leader will now play.
"What he suggests in his reflection is that there is a question of age," Magranet said. "But if it were up to the people, he would return (to power) for the rest of his life."
Leading government critic Elizardo Sanchez said Cubans were looking for change.
"For the immense majority of Cubans, it's not important if he or his brother is in charge of the government. What is important is that they carry out reforms, ease restrictions on civil rights and the right to work freely," he said.
A woman sweeps under a photograph of Cuba's President Fidel Castro in Havana, Thursday, May 24, 2007. 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 Wednesday in a statement that gave the most detailed account of his health since August. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
“For many months, I depended on IVs and catheters through which I received an important part of my nourishment,”
If he received nutrition through a catheter it’s no wonder there were complications!
tht great cuban medicine...so good he finally had to go to spain or the doctors in cuba were going to kill him
I was about to say the vaunted medical care in Cuba just about killed the old man before he went to some competent doctors. I wonder how many Michael Moore took to Cuba may die, or have they actually seen some imp[rovement.
It would be interesting to know the truth, something we wont get from Michael Moore./
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