Nelson Mandela in ‘serious but stable condition’ battling recurring lung infection
The nonagenarian, former President of South Africa and anti-apartheid hero is in “serious but stable condition” at a Pretoria hospital with a recurring lung infection, according to a CNN report today.
94-year-old Nelson Mandela was taken to the hospital Saturday, and as current South African President Jacob Zuma said in a statement, Mandela was breathing on his own.
“What I am told by doctors is that he is breathing on his own and I think that is a positive sign,” he said. “Madiba [Mr Mandela’s clan name] is a fighter and at his age, as long as he is fighting, he will be fine.”
Mandela’s wife, Graca Machel, is at the hospital with him, sources told CNN. She canceled her plans to attend the Hunger Summit meeting in London on Saturday.
It was the fourth time in less than a year that Mandela has been hospitalized, deepening concern about his increasing frailty, the New York Times reports.
Mr. Mandela has had chronic lung problems since contracting tuberculosis during his 27-year imprisonment for fighting apartheid, the paper states.
Zuma spokesman, Mac Maharaj, says the former President is “receiving expert medical care”.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, tweeted what everyone else is thinking–“My thoughts are with Nelson Mandela, who is in hospital in South Africa”.
Mandela and then-South African President F.W. de Klerk jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.