'Rebel With A Cause' Sharon Suffers A Stroke (CONST. UPDATED)

Pietro da Cortona 'The Guardian Angel' ca.1656 at Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome

LIVEBLOGGING THROUGH THE NIGHT AND CONSTANTLY UPDATED, LATEST JAN.10TH

Breaking news from AP a few moments ago:

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, and was receiving breathing assistance while under general anesthetic, a hospital official said. Power was transferred to his deputy.
Sharon, 77, suffered a "significant" stroke and was brought to Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital from his ranch in the Negev desert, an official said. Channel 2 TV said Sharon was suffering from paralysis in his lower body and was taken into the hospital on a stretcher.
Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, the hospital's director general, said Sharon was under general anesthetic and was receiving breathing assistance while doctors assessed his condition.
A few minutes later, Mor-Yosef emerged to say that initial tests showed Sharon had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, or bleeding in his brain.
Addressing reporters in English, Mor-Yosef said Sharon had "massive bleeding and was being transferred to an operating theater."
Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon said Sharon's authority had been transferred to Vice Premier Ehud Olmert.

All our thoughts are with Prime Minister Sharon, his family, and most importantly Israel.

This tragedy however has huge implications, but I doubt anybody knows for sure exactly what those implications might be. It certainly is no longer about elections, it's about life and death.

The political realignment within the Knesset is going to be absolute chaos, we can only hope that Olmert will hold onto the reigns with strength and conviction, at least until  some important moves  have been completed. Least of which is the strike on Iran's nuclear sites.

If a more moderate leadership gains control, going along with the waves of commerce now centered around the Middle East, it may mean certain changes of course which may not be favorable at this time of nuclear uncertainty.

If there is a significant shift in the political dialogue towards the moderate, Ariel Sharon's exit from world politics may signal a superficially temporary chaos, but will soon fade into insignificance compared to the ensuing chaos if the impending plans in relation to Iran are changed.

Timing could not be more uncanny in view of the news about Iran's nuclear plans today.

The The Political Pit Bull is liveblogging. and Ynet News has a video.

Update from Pamela @ Atlas Shrugs: "There is massive internal bleeding in the brain. He has been in the operation room for an hour," Dr. Shmuel Shapira told Israel's Channel Ten television. Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu said that "Like the entire people of Israel, I also pray for the wellbeing of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Vital Perspective has the best wish statements from The President, Secretary of State Condi Rice and Gov. Schwarzenegger.

Ed Driscoll observes: Watch for a repeat of this, if Sharon passes away.

From The Jerusalem Post:

...a radical Palestinian leader in Damascus, the Syrian capital, called Sharon's health crisis a gift from God.

"We say it frankly that God is great and is able to exact revenge on this butcher. ... We thank God for this gift he presented to us on this new year," Ahmed Jibril, leader of the Syrian-backed faction Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, a small radical group, told the Associated Press.

Ed Morrissey @ Captain's Quarters reminds us of The Palestinian gratitude.

Sigmund Carl & Alfred post an excellent article by Martin Perez, "....Israelis know what they need to do to face reality with or without The Prime Minister"

An excellent profile of Ariel Sharon on BBC News posted moments ago:

"The one aim in life for the former soldier and veteran politician is to ensure total security for Israel on his terms."

A  Newsweek article recently talked about his plans as The Rebel With A Cause.

And recently:

"Sharon resembles the hedgehog from Archilochus’s parable: the hedgehog, wrote the Greek poet, “knows one big thing”, while the fox “knows many little things.” Sharon knows one thing: that while the “international community” and many of the settlers see the withdrawal from Gaza as precedent that will in time lead to the dismantling of Israel’s settlements in the West Bank and the creation of a Palestinian state, “time”, as Sharon told an Israeli reporter, “is not working against us.”

And now no matter what the outcome of this long night may be, even if Ariel Sharon is able to function, national responsibility will require him to retire from political life and withdraw his candidacy for the post of prime minister.

Israeli democracy is facing a difficult test tonight, but we are talking about a test it already overcame in the past. Under very different circumstances, a prime minister died in Israel while on the job, more than 10 years ago. He did not resign, he did not quit, and he did not lose the elections. The difference has to do with the extent of the public's trauma and pain, but the democratic tumult is largely the same.

The political game moved to a new phase only recently, an unknown phase. For the first time in many years, a new and significant player entered the political system: A large, powerful, popular centrist party. A party that changed the rules of the game only several months ago. Now, it's a whole new ballgame.

It is still too early to predict, guess, or attempt to analyze the next moves. In any case, it is clear that new things are in store. The political system without Ariel Sharon is an entirely different system, facing a mess for the time being, confused, and lacking a clear direction.

One thing is for sure, we will need an Ariel Sharon in these turbulent months to come, we will need that firm hand to pour over the maps of Iran and be the one to make the firm decision to be respected, and say here and here and here. Not a good time not to have an Ariel Sharon absent from the decision making table, and even worse altogether.....

UPDATE: 

The Prime Minister underwent hours of surgery, but doctors resumed operating early Thursday after a brain scan revealed he required more treatment.

Media reports said the surgery had ended after more than six hours. But Hadassah Hospital Director Mor-Yosef said that while the bleeding had stopped, Sharon was returned to surgery in "serious condition."

"We are continuing with the same operation, and there are more areas that need to be treated," Mor-Yosef said without elaborating.

Surgery apparently had been complicated by blood thinners he had been given following a mild stroke on Dec. 18, and the medication may also have contributed to Wednesday's stroke.

FURTHER UPDATE A FEW MOMENTS AGO, DIRECTLY FROM ISRAEL:

Update, Alexandra: There have been persistent rumors of Sharon's demise, to the point where the director of the hospital came out half an hour ago to announce that he is alive, in a coma, and on artifical respiration.
Clearly, even if he lives and returns to consciousness- and the latter proposition appears highly doubtful- Sharon will never be in any kind of condition to return to the Prime Minister's office. This is critical, since it means that until the March elections Ehud Olmert, a weak and corrupt nonentity, will be acting PM. This is a very fateful time, one in which everyone was betting on Israel's taking on the Iranian nuclear program; Olmert is not politically or militarily capable of presiding over that kind of operation.
It also means that the PM race is wide open: for whatever it is worth, my bet is that now Netanyahu will win; Kadima is a one-man party.

THE MEDICAL OPINION:

A brain stem hemorrhage, as Sharon is said to have, is profoundly damaging, and fundamentally irreversible.Brain stem joins spinal cord to brain, contains vital functions such as respiratory center. He may "survive" though odds are heavily against this, but chances of him being able to do anything for anyone are small. Whether or not "surviving", he is lost to us all.

"Doctors are saying that there is zero chance that he'll emerge from this without serious damage"

In terms of politics, it is pretty clear, that Prime Minister Sharon is unfortunately out of the game.

The Islamofascists today are sure they have been blessed.

But we will be the ones to pray....

LATEST UPDATE DIRECTLY FROM ISRAEL:

Sharon is being kept alive artificially right now, and they won't know whether or not his life is viable until they take him off the anesthesia tomorrow- i.e., will he start breathing by himself, will he regain consciousness, etc. Mor-Yosef, the hospital director, said it could be up to 72 hours before they have a clear picture of any of that.

JAN 6TH BREAKING NEWS DIRECTLY FROM ISRAEL: Sharon has been rushed to the operating room- a CAT scan discovered more bleeding in the brain. Obviously, this poor man has reached the end of his road.

Our prayers are with him now.

The Prime Minister is out of the operating theatre, after a three hour operation, and having another CAT scan to assess the successs of the proceedure.

The pressure has been reduced from the brain and his condition is stable but serious, and he will remain in a medically induced coma until Sunday.

The latest from The Jerusalem Post. with an extensive three page in depth report, Haaretz and the latest round up from Michelle Malkin, with the latest updates translated from Hebrew by Omri @ Mere Rhetoric here.

Pat Robertson The Evangelical Christian broadcaster is full of nonsense.

UPDATE JAN 7TH: Mor-Yosef reiterated that the prime minister's condition was stable, but nevertheless serious. He also said that while the latest CT scan showed that although the left side of Sharon's brain appeared "normal," there would be no way of assessing the extent of the damage caused by the prime minister's cerebral hemorrhage until doctors brought Sharon out of his induced coma.

On Sunday morning, Hadassah neurologists, neurosurgeons, and anesthesiologists will meet and discuss continued treatment.

UPDATE SUN. JAN 8TH: The chances that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will survive his massive stroke are "very high. He is a very strong man, and he is getting the best care," Dr. Jose Cohen, the neurosurgeon who has performed three operations on Sharon, said on Saturday.

Cohen warned, however, that the prime minister remained in serious condition, and noted: "He will not continue to be prime minister, but maybe he will be able to understand and to speak."

On Sunday morning, an interdisciplinary team of experts at Hadassah-University Medical Center will assess Sharon's condition, then decide whether to perform another computerized tomography (CT) scan of his brain and when to gradually reduce the amount of drugs that have kept him in an induced coma.

Doctors were reviewing the results of the scan before resuming discussions on when to pull Sharon out of an induced coma, the officials said. The hospital planned an announcement shortly after noon.

Channel 10 TV reported that doctors were inclined not to lift the sedation Sunday.

It is now scheduled for Monday.

UPDATE JAN 9TH: The Prime Minister begins breathing, as the sedation is reduced, but his condition remains critical.

He responds to pain stimulus, and can move right arm and leg.

UPDATE JAN 10TH: His condition continues to improve as there is more movement, and  the process of attempting to awaken The Prime Minister from the coma. Music is brought to him as well as food, in order to stimulate all the senses in the process of being more alert. His breathing has improved.

UPDATE  JAN 10TH:   Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has "stepped five meters away from the precipice" and is "no longer in immediate danger,"

Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) director-general Shlomo Mor-Yosef added that while he continued to be in serious condition, he moved his left arm for the first time in reaction to a pain stimulus, and the movements of his right arm and right leg were stronger than they were on Monday, when Sharon's anesthesia was first gradually reduced to bring him out of an induced coma.

All vital signs - such as pulse, blood pressure, urine production and intracranial pressure - remain steady and within the normal range, Mor-Yosef said. But he and Weiss said it would be impossible to assess the extent of his cognitive abilities for several days or even weeks.

UPDATE JAN 12TH: Prime Minister Sharon is almost breathing on his own. It has been revealed that his brain disease has been hidden for political reasons.

A GUIDE TO SHARON'S MEDICAL CONDITION

Omri @ Mere Rhetoric, translating news from Hebrew, and updating constantly.

Bloggers discussing: The Anchoress, Hugh Hewitt, LGF, Haaretz has good coverage  as does Jerusalem Post, extensive updates from  Iris, Powerline, Roger Simon, Blogs For Bush PoliPundit, Yourish.com, Kesher Talk, Neo-Neocon, Bookworm Room, Gateway Pundit, Outside The Beltway,  The Belgravia Dispatch, Vodkapundit, Sister Toldjah, Jihad Watch, The Counterterrorism Blog, The Moderate Voice, The Reaction,  Gina Cobb, Abracadabrah A Blog For All, The RCP Blog, Time, The Astute Blogger, Rhymes With Right, TigerHawk, Arutz-Sheva, Hammerswing, WaPo, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, Dr. Sanity, The Political Teen, Andrew Sullivan World Net Daily,  Obsidian Wings Betsy's Page

Comments

[Darrell]

My prayers go out to Ariel Sharon and his family...

[Alexandra]

Thank you G, I have posted it in the main text.

[Guest]

Update, Alexandra: There have been persistent rumors of Sharon's demise, to the point where the director of the hospital came out half an hour ago to announce that he is alive, in a coma, and on artifical respiration.
Clearly, even if he lives and returns to consciousness- and the latter proposition appears highly doubtful- Sharon will never be in any kind of condition to return to the Prime Minister's office. This is critical, since it means that until the March elections Ehud Olmert, a weak and corrupt nonentity, will be acting PM. This is a very fateful time, one in which everyone was betting on Israel's taking on the Iranian nuclear program; Olmert is not politically or militarily capable of presiding over that kind of operation.
It also means that the PM race is wide open: for whatever it is worth, my bet is that now Netanyahu will win; Kadima is a one-man party.
Best wishes to all,
Guest

[North by Northwest]

ENOUGH is ENOUGH.

"I am ready with my candies and my rockets and praying to Allah that Sharon dies. We have prepared a celebratory barrage of rockets ready to fire into Israel on the occasion of the death of our enemy," said Abu Abir, spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella group of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists responsible for firing hundreds of Qassam rockets and mortars at Jewish towns.

These people are no people they are dirty swine; in fact they are an insult to pigs. No more dialogue or diplomatic rubbish from western apologists, who are too ignorant to face reality. Bloody champagne communists. Bomb the bastards; bomb the bastards out of existence, whilst you can. Treat them the way they are dying to treat us, but do it FIRST. Zero tolerance. Period.

[Liquid]

God bless him for a speedy healing! My prayers are with him and his family and for all of Israel!

[Bookworm]

Thank you for the link. I'm especially glad because it brought your fine blog to my attention.

[Pamela aka "Atlas"]

UPDATE: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been rushed to Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem, in Jerusalem. He has suffered a significant brain event. Israel Channel 10 reported that Sharon was taken to the hospital at his request, and that he was fully conscious and talking on the phone as he was taken in his armored car to the hospital. Power has officially been temporarily transferred to Deputy PM Ehud Olmert.
UPDATE: "The diagnosis is cerebral haemorrhaging. In light of this, the prime minister has been taken to the surgical ward," Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef told reporters.
UPDATE: The transfer of power to Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was decided upon by Attorney-General Meni Mazuz after it was established that the Prime Minister's treatment required that he be anesthetized.
UPDATE: "There is massive internal bleeding in the brain. He has been in the operation room for an hour," Dr. Shmuel Shapira told Israel's Channel Ten television. Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu said that "Like the entire people of Israel, I also pray for the wellbeing of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.