Khaleda’s condition improves slightly: Physician

The health condition of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, now undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in the capital with multiple complications, is still critical but it is not true that she was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, said her personal physician Dr AZM Zahid Hossain. 
 
He, however, said the BNP chief has been suffering from liver problems alongside kidney and cardiac ones. 
 
"Madam's condition is the same as before. There's no noticeable change in her condition. We neither can call it a slight improvement, nor stable. In a word, she is still in a critical condition," Zahid told UNB. 
 
He said physicians have kept her under intensive monitoring in the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of the hospital. "Various parameters of her health are fluctuating and are taking the right measures accordingly." 
 
Zahid said the BNP chief is very weak physically and she has to spend most of her time lying in bed. "She's only allowed soft food." 
 
Syeda Sharmila Rahman Sithi, the wife of Khaleda's deceased son Arafat Rahman, has been taking care of her at the hospital, he said. 
 
The doctor said it is now imperative for Khaleda to go to any advanced centre abroad for the proper treatment of her multidisciplinary diseases. "All the doctors, including those connected virtually from the USA and the UK, are worried about her condition as they think she needs to go abroad as soon as possible." 
 
About media reports on Khaleda's liver cirrhosis problem, Zahid said the news is not correct. "It's fact that she has been suffering from liver, kidney, diabetes, heart and other complications. But I don't know from where the media got the information that she was diagnosed with cirrhosis." 
 
Khaleda, a 76-year-old former prime minister, was readmitted to Evercare Hospital on 13 November, six days after she had returned home from the hospital. 
 
The BNP chief's physicians said she has been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, critical cardiac, kidney ophthalmological and dental complications. The haemoglobin level in her blood has also dropped. 
 
On behalf of the family, Khaleda's younger brother, Shamim Iskander, submitted an application to the Home Ministry on 11 November urging the government to allow her to go abroad for better treatment. 
 
Law Minister Anisul Huq, however, recently said the BNP chairperson first has to make a fresh application by going back to jail to go abroad for treatment.