Pale Soeharto leaves Pertamina Hospital
Pale Soeharto leaves Pertamina Hospital
JAKARTA (JP): After undergoing 10 days of intensive medical
treatment for a minor stroke, former president Soeharto left
Pertamina Hospital for his home on Friday afternoon.
Accompanied by his eldest daughter Siti "Tutut" Hardiyanti
Rukmana, the 78-year-old former strongman was taken in a
wheelchair from his super VVIP room on the sixth floor to a
waiting gray Mercedes-Benz sedan outside the South Jakarta
hospital.
Attired in a white pajama top, a checkered sarong and a shawl
draped around his neck, the ailing Soeharto looked pale but
managed to walk to the car with help.
Later in Soeharto's tightly guarded residence on Jl. Cendana
in Central Jakarta, his lawyer Juan Felix Tampubolon said it was
his client who decided to leave the hospital after doctors gave
him the green light to do so.
"If I can leave now, why should we wait for tomorrow?" Juan
quoted Soeharto as saying on Friday before noon.
The lawyer added: "He can now walk, albeit weakly, his left
arm is also weak but he can move it."
Soeharto, he said, could speak but was not fully articulate.
"His spirit to recover is remarkable for a man of his age,"
Juan said, boasting about his client's zest for life.
Soeharto underwent a series of examinations, including a CT-
scan, a Magnetic Resonance Imaging examination, nuclear
examination, radiology and intensive physiotherapy during his
stay in the hospital.
Five of his six billionaire children were also seen at the
hospital when he left.
His other son, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, was attending a
court hearing on corruption charges in South Jakarta District
Court.
Juan reiterated that Soeharto's children and relatives had no
plan to take the former president overseas for further medical
treatment.
"He'll be treated at home."
Juan, however, said the medical treatment arrangement for
Soeharto at Cendana remained unclear.
The only thing Soeharto will initially get is a nurse, who'll
continue looking after the former president from day to day, he
added.
Juan gave no further explanation about the nurse.
All good
Ibrahim Ginting, head of Soeharto's team of doctors, said the
hospital agreed to release him after a series of tests revealed
he was well enough to go home.
"Pak Harto's blood test was good, so were his blood sugar and
red blood cell count levels. All are normal and there are no
other complications," Ginting said as quoted by Antara on Friday.
Ginting said Soeharto would undergo further physiotherapy at
home.
"Intensive rehabilitation will be carried out," he said.
"There'll be a program arranged to restore his health. The
program is mainly physical.
"But the restrictions for him remain the same ... and he
doesn't have to keep returning to the hospital for more medical
checkups."
Soeharto's residence is reportedly equipped with sophisticated
medical equipment, placed there following the demise of his wife
Tien Soeharto in April 1996 at Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in
Central Jakarta.
Doctors have given the former ruler, who was forced to resign
in May last year, more than a 50 percent chance of full recovery.
Speculation over Soeharto's health mounted when he was rushed
to the hospital on July 20.
In the first few hours, his entourage and doctors insisted it
was for a routine checkup.
On the next day, they admitted he had suffered a mild stroke.
Soeharto became seriously ill from exhaustion in December 1997
and was forced to cancel two planned overseas trips.
In July 1996, he underwent a three-day medical checkup at a
cardiac hospital in the German spa town of Bad Oeynhausen.
In August 1994, he underwent a number of medical tests at
Gatot Subroto Army Hospital, where it was discovered he had
kidney stones.
Soeharto, who has always seemed to be healthy, has appeared in
public several times since his resignation, mostly to deny
charges of corruption. (emf)