All the TV coverage of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s hospitalisation after his stroke has been something of a depressing reminder of the general ignorance within the average population of health matters.
Journalists, politicians, and well-wishers alike have been commenting on his condition and recovery progress as though they expect him to be back leading the country in a few weeks or months.
What they seem blissfully clueless about is that people who have major bleeds into their brains (and Sharon has had at least two from what I can tell from the new reports) are generally lucky if they return to being able to tie their own shoelaces, let alone leading a country.
The statistics on stroke alone are depressing enough: 1/3 die in at the time of the stroke, 1/3 die within 1 month, and overall only 10% return to living at home.