Swami still in Hospital

Satya Saibaba''s condition critical but stable

PTI | 08:04 PM,Apr 06,2011

Puttaparthi (AP), Apr 6 (PTI) The condition of Satya Saibaba today remained critical but stable as a team of medical specialists continuously monitored his health, which has shown "slight improvement". Satya Saibaba has problems like irregular heart beat, pneumonia and dysfunction of kidneys and one of the best possible medical care is being given to him and he was responding, the head of the team of doctors treating him said. A pacemaker was implanted to address the irregular heart beat, a ventilator has been arranged to assist his respiration and dialysis and a Continuous Renal Replenishment Therapy (CRRT) is being performed to improve the kidney functioning, A N Safaya, director of the Sri Satya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, said. "He (Baba) has shown slight improvement. We are trying our best to bring him out of the difficult situation. Baba should himself have the sankalpa (will)," he said. Except slight rise in temperature, Sai Baba's blood pressure, pulse rate, blood sugar, platelet count in the blood and other parameters are nearly normal, Nephrologist Raviraj, who is also Director of Medical Education of Andhra Pradesh government, said. He said though there is no deterioration in Sai Baba's condition, he is still not out of danger. "These parameters are maintained because of intervention of the doctors. There is sufficient hope. It is difficult to say how many days it can continue like that. There is no time limit. "We have seen cases of patients being put on the support systems for months and there are recoveries. There is a problem if the body does not respond. But there is a response and it is a good sign," he said. When asked whether doctors can release the video footage of Satya Sai Baba in ICU as there are many apprehensions and anxiety among his devotees, especially the local residents, P V Ramesh, Principal Secretary (Health) of the state government, said it will be violation of human rights to take photos of patient in ICU. 85-year-old Satya Sai Baba, who transformed this tiny village in backward Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh into a pilgrim centre of international repute, was admitted to the hospital on March 28 following complaints of lung and chest infections.