Nelson Mandela is Hospitalized, Responding Well to Treatment

Incumbent South Africa President Jacob Zuma assured South Africans that former President Nelson Mandela, who was brought to the hospital on Wednesday before midnight due to recurring lung infection is responding well to treatment. The President did not disclose which hospital Mr. Mandela is staying, just saying that it is for the former president’s privacy. Mandela is 94 years old.

In an interview President Zuma said he is appealing to South Africans to understand that the former president is not young anymore and at his age, he could go now and again for hospital check-ups but there is no reason for the country to panic. However, when asked if the people should be preparing for the inevitable, he only said that there is a saying in Zulu that states that he or she has gone home when the person has passed away. He said that is the best way to think about it.

The former president, who is popularly known in South Africa as “Madiba,” which is his clan’s name, was also hospitalized in December. He was treated for lung infection and had surgery to remove gallstones. That time he stayed in the hospital for 18 days, one of the longest times he was in a hospital after his 1990 release from prison.

President Obama who is of African descent has sent his best wishes to the first black president of South Africa on Thursday. He said Mr. Mandela is an inspiration, a person who is strong physically as well as in leadership and character while meeting with visiting leaders from Cape Verde, Malawi, Senegal and Sierra Leone. The U.S. president, who is the first black president of the United States, is regularly updated on the condition of Mr. Mandela.

Hospitalization

Mr. Mandela has been hospitalized twice this month. Earlier he was admitted to the hospital for a routine checkup. During this latest hospitalization, it was said that Mr. Mandela was fully conscious. For the past two years he had been hospitalized four times.

His bout of sickness was caused by tuberculosis, which he contracted while in prison on Robben Island in the 1980s. He served 18 of the 27-year conviction for sabotage on the island. Working at the prison quarry, his lungs were damaged.

He was rarely seen since 2004 upon his retirement from public life. Since South Africa hosted the World Cup in 2010, Mr. Mandela hasn’t made any public appearances due to poor health.

Father of the South African Nation

Nelson Mandela led his nation in its struggle against apartheid and became South Africa’s president after spending time in prison in 1994. As promised, he only spent one presidential term, which ended in 1999. He forgave his enemies when he became president and even urged them to work together. Nelson Mandela and former President of South Africa, F.W. de Klerk won the Nobel Peace Prize jointly in 1993.

His doctors have requested him to live in Johannesburg instead of his hometown in Qunu so that he could be near a hospital.