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Castro
recounts his illness and recovery
Yahoo!
News. By Will Weissert, Associated Press
Writer. May 24, 2007.
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.
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