Doctors debate his condition as Congress misses a veteran leader
Doctors debate his condition as Congress misses a veteran leader
Five years ago, senior Congress leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi was an integral part of the party's Lok Sabha campaign. But this time as the general elections approach, Dasmunsi is being missed by his colleagues.
The veteran leader was hospitalised about three months ago after a near-fatal cardiac arrest. Today, even after being shifted from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to the Apollo Hospital, Dasmunsi is yet to recover fully.
The Apollo Hospital, however, maintains Dasmunsi has shown signs of "improvement" but is still not out of danger. According to Apollo Hospital sources, although he has been shifted to a private room, he is still battling serious neurological problems described in medical terminology as Altered Sensorium.
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A faceoff? |
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Delhi calling: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (L) attends a party meeting while Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi at another meeting in New Delhi on Thursday
Pics/Rajeev Tyagi, Imtiyaz Khan |
"Although he has been off the ventilator for almost a month now, he is not conscious of his surroundings. He is partly conscious but registers no activity. He can open his eyes and move his eyeballs. So we can't term him brain dead," said an official from Apollo Hospital, requesting anonymity.
However, experts are not toeing Apollo's line.
A senior neurologist from AIIMS raised serious doubts about the minister's health. "Altered Sensorium can be caused because of many reasons. The hospital sources are not defining which one affects the minister. It is an Eye Motor Verbal (EMV) grading of a person's unconscious state. It is not a diagnosis. Until the reason of his state is not known, nothing concrete can be said. But it is certain that recovery will take a long time," said the doctor.
Doctors said the reasons for Dasmunsi's Altered Sensorium could be many. "It could have been caused by meningitis, hypertension, a cerebo-vascular accident (in which a blood clot forms inside arteries or brain) or any of the hundred other reasons," the doctor added.
The only consolation is that the minister's respiratory system is performing fine. Congress members said Dasmunsi had ignored instructions of his doctors and against their advice had stressed himself out on the floor of the Parliament as the then Parliamentary Affairs minister.
