Manning back in hospital (with CNC3 video)

Manning back in hospital

Former Prime Minister Patrick Manning is in hospital again after collapsing at his San Fernando East constituency office yesterday afternoon. Chairman of the South West Regional Health Authority Dr Lackram Bodoe said Manning was in a stable condition at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) after being attended to at the Accident and Emergency Department

He was kept at the hospital overnight for observation and is expected to have a CT scan this morning to ensure there was no damage to the brain. His sister Dr Petronella Manning-Alleyne, who rushed to his side, said he had not suffered another stroke, as reports first said.

In a telephone interview, Manning-Alleyne said: “He had a seizure around 3.45 pm at his constituency office. He was brought to the SFGH, where tests were done and which tests determined it was nothing more than a seizure. 

“They are keeping him for a short period of observation. We don’t know for how long but he is already recovered and walking. “ Manning-Alleyne explained that seizures were one of the long-term effects of the stroke that Manning suffered in January 2012. 

Speaking to reporters shortly after Manning was admitted, his son David said: “My father is supposed to have three seizures as his brain tissues heal. He has already had one and this is his second. 

“My mother (former education minister Hazel Manning) will be spending the night with him. We are not sure when he will be discharged.” Constituency executive member Anthony Clarke said Manning was talking but not walking. Manning-Alleyne said he was not walking because he was being attended to, not because he could not walk. 

Manning, 67, has been on extended sick leave since he had a stroke at his Sumadh Gardens, Vistabella, San Fernando, home on January 23, 2012. After that he spent six months in Washington, DC, undergoing intense physiotherapy. Last December, he also returned to Cuba for his annual cardiac check-up and was reportedly given a clean bill of health. 

On January 23, he was granted a further six weeks’ extension of his leave and was due to return to Parliament on March 5. In preparation for his comeback, Manning has been out and about, attending the Calypso Fiesta at Skinner Park on February 2, and meeting  constituents and well-wishers on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. He also attended Carnival Monday night’s Pan on the Coffee.

In an interview after his appearance at Calypso Fiesta, his wife told the T&T Guardian going into public places was all part of his therapy. “This is what they did when he was in Washington. Every week or so, they took him out to museums, to shows, shopping. It’s all part of the therapy,” she said then.

On January 26, Manning’s constituency executive held a private thanksgiving service for him.