ALBANY, N.Y., March 2 (UPI) -- New York Gov. George Pataki surprised reporters at a news conference Tuesday to explain that, "As Mark Twain said, 'Rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated.'
"I've seen the reports and I just wanted to let you know that every day I'm getting a little better," he said.
It was just in time, because at the news conference at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, reporters had been peppering hospital staff with questions on whether Pataki might have cancer.
It's not like I haven't seen the New York media speculate wildly before, but some comment went beyond the pale.
A newspaper reported his staff said that "the governor was good spirits," but that such "generalities, and the fact that no release date seemed forthcoming anytime soon, fueled speculation. Moreover, in the back of the minds of lots of people was history. President Woodrow Wilson, for instance, concealed a massive stroke that left him nearly totally incapacitated."
My guess is the Woodrow Wilson scenario only occurred in the fertile minds of the media, because the public has had experience with illness and knows that only on TV does someone have a heart attack and, with seemingly no recovery time, return to their life without a beat.
Some 24 million U.S. adults have coronary heart disease, heart failure or have survived stroke, and their families know recovery can take some time; while some improve rapidly, some have setbacks.
Almost everyone is touched by cancer -- one out of two U.S. men and one out of every three U.S. women will have some type of cancer at some point during their lifetime.
Two weeks ago, the governor had abdominal pain and had his ruptured appendix removed. Most people with an appendectomy leave the hospital after 48 hours, but a week ago Tuesday, Pataki underwent surgery to alleviate a blockage in his digestive system caused by the scar tissue.
In addition, Pataki suffered from paralytic ileus, which occurs in the intestine after an operation when the muscles aren't contracting; as a result, food cannot be digested.
Paralytic ileus occurs in one-third of patients after abdominal surgery, peritonitis, decreased blood supply to the intestinal wall or disturbed electrolytes. Usually the treatment is to wait until the bowels recover and to slowly introduce food.
Although staying in the hospital more than a few days can raise eyebrows if not the ire of the insurance company, Pataki's lack of a discharge date seems to imply something sinister to some.
"Just how bad-off, medically, is New York Gov. George Pataki?" asked WABC-TV last Tuesday.
"That's a real question tonight, especially after an illuminating news conference by his doctors at New York Presbyterian-Columbia University Medical Center. Doctors disclosed:
-- The governor had a "seriously ruptured appendix."
-- The rupture sent an infection throughout his abdomen.
-- He has a fever, 12 days after the first of two operations.
-- He's being treated with intravenous antibiotics.
-- His digestive system has not returned to normal.
"We're not saying anyone lied about the medical status of New York state's chief executive, but there clearly were some facts omitted during the past two weeks."
There seemed to be some confusion on peritonitis. Some interpret peritonitis to indicate Pataki was much sicker than the media was told, but it was later clarified that it was used to describe the appendix rupture.
Outside of debating whether the rupture was "serious," we've been reporting all along that a rupture occurred, Pataki was being treated with an IV that included antibiotics and that the governor's digestive system hadn't yet recovered.
Stuff happens. After my 93-year-old father had a heart attack 13 years ago, his digestive system shut down and he kept spiking a fever. Why? No one knew, despite a phalanx of specialists. He stayed in the cardiac care unit for three weeks, which is a very long time to stay in intensive care. Since he wasn't eating and only getting nourishment from an IV, he entered the hospital at about 220 pounds and came out at about 160 pounds.
A hospital won't release a patient until he or she can eat -- but if my father was any indication, the fever can come and go so it's difficult to pinpoint a release date. My father was slated to leave a couple of times, but then the fever returned, causing another delay.
Pataki said he was looking forward to his first pizza and beer.
This is a good sign. The day the hospital moved my father from CCU to a regular floor, an intern gave him a drug to help relax him. My guess is, the intern did not account for the change of weight and the drug altered my father -- he didn't know where he was. However, he did want to rip out the IV and "go get some pizza" at the store outside his hospital window.
My father recovered. But the governor, the media and the public should take into account that it takes three days to recover for each day spent in the hospital.
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Alex Cukan is an award-winning journalist, but she always has considered caregiving her primary job. UPI welcomes comments and questions about this column. E-mail: [email protected]
