Vajpayee weak, but will be discharged soon

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who is recuperating from a chest infection at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, would be discharged soon, his doctor said today.

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who is recuperating from a chest infection at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, would be discharged soon, his doctor said on Sunday.

"He will be discharged today (Sunday) or tomorrow (Monday). Vajpayee-ji's condition has improved and we feel he is fit to go home now," Randeep Guleria, Vajpayee's personal physician, told IANS.

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"He is still in the ICU, which is his designated area. He is sitting up but not walking much… there is still weakness. He can recover from that at home," Guleria said.

The 84-year-old veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was admitted to AIIMS after he complained of difficulty in breathing February 3 and was on ventilator support for quite a few days.

He underwent a tracheotomy surgery for smoother airway management February 14. The next day, he was taken off the ventilator. A multi-disciplinary team of doctors led by Guleria is monitoring Vajpayee's progress.

"He was pretty sick… and then he was on ventilator. It was serious. Now he has improved and there is a degree of weakness... He has more or less resumed his normal diet too," said Guleria, who is the head of medicine at AIIMS.

"We preferred it that way to avoid any strain. Once discharged, he can return to his political meetings," he added.

Vajpayee was keeping a tab on the news by reading newspapers and watching television once his condition had stabilised, Guleria said.