Former South African president FW de Klerk is now ”communicating pretty freely” with people from his bed in an intensive-care unit, after a lengthy period under sedation, spokesperson Dave Steward of the FW de Klerk Foundation said on Monday.
Steward, who served as De Klerk’s director general when he was head of state, said that he ”continues to make steady progress” and was sitting up on Monday.
”He was a little dizzy yesterday [Sunday],” said Steward, who reported on Sunday that De Klerk was fully conscious after nearly two weeks of sedation.
He was sedated when he developed respiratory problems four days after an operation to remove a cancerous growth on his colon on June 3. De Klerk is at
the Panorama clinic in Cape Town.
Steward said that the former president had been visited by his wife, Elita, and her daughter, Iliana Georgiadis, at the hospital on Monday morning.
”He is making steady progress,” said Steward, who added that De Klerk was being slowly weaned off a ventilator. Last week De Klerk underwent a tracheotomy — a small hole was incised in the throat — to avoid the discomfort of the ventilator being fed through his mouth when he regained consciousness.
De Klerk, who was the last white president from 1989 to 1994, gave up smoking late last year. The former National Party leader has retired from formal politics.
He celebrated his 70th birthday on March 18. – I-Net Bridge