Tommy Osmeña out of the hospital

CEBU CITY — Mayor Tomas Osmeña checked out of the hospital the other day, after nearly three weeks of confinement due to a hypertension attack.

His doctor, cardiologist Manuel Lim, told The Freeman that the mayor is doing well and has recovered well enough to be allowed to continue his therapy and recuperation at home.

Osmeña himself gave assurances that he is feeling much better now, although he admitted that he still feels dizzy every time he stands up or lies down in bed for long periods.

Wearing a striped green and white polo shirt and black pants, Osmeña appeared to be relaxed and elated to be back in his Guadalupe home.

Still, all is not yet normal with the mayor. He was holding a metal walking cane and the right lens of his reading glasses was covered with a patch, both of which were tell-tale signs of the hypertension attack he suffered from on March 9.

Lim said the patch on Osmeña’s reading glasses was meant to ease the discomfort the mayor still feels due to double vision. There was still involuntary twitching of the muscles around Osmeña’s right eye, which, Lim earlier said, is caused by a clot in the subarachnoid space in Osmeña’s brain.

Osmeña was rushed to Chong Hua Hospital on March 9 after collapsing at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral where he stood as sponsor at a wedding. His blood pressure then rose to 240 over 120.

After about a week in the Intensive Care Unit, Osmeña was brought home due to his insistence. However, three days later, on March 20, he was brought back to the hospital.

The other day, the mayor said he is still bent on going to the United States for further tests, therapy and rest.

However, he said he may not be away for six months, but may decide to return to work sooner than six months. Last week, Osmeña announced from his hospital bed that he was going on a six-month leave of absence for medical tests and a much-needed vacation.

On Good Friday, Osmeña was also allowed by his doctors to step out of the hospital to go to a church, the Alliance of Two Hearts in Banawa, and to have dinner in his Guadalupe home.

"I promised the parish priest that I’ll be here. So I’m here," Osmeña told The Freeman at the church last Friday. He said he was invited by Msgr. Roberto Alesna.

Osmeña arrived at the church at 6:40 p.m. just as the Santo Entierro procession was arriving. He was accompanied by his wife Margot, two nurses and bodyguards.

Aided by a walking cane and assisted by a nurse, Osmeña smiled at churchgoers he met on the way to the image of Jesus Christ.

He left the church six minutes later, and immediately proceeded to his Guadalupe residence.

Lim and neurosurgeon Rogelio Chua did not accompany Osmeña to the church.

While in his Guadalupe residence on Good Friday, the mayor could not resist helping in the kitchen, assisting the cook in preparing a sumptuous dinner of prawns.

The mayor also had planned to attend the Via Crucis on Good Friday in Sudlon II. He was, however, prevailed upon by his wife not to proceed. Mrs. Osmeña said the heat of the sun might be too much for him to take, given his current condition.

The mayor also downplayed the claim of the city’s opposition councilors that his long absence will give rise to demoralization within his party, the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK).

Osmeña expressed confidence that the BOPK councilors will man the fort and perform their tasks even without him.

He said his absence at City Hall will not disrupt the delivery of basic services. — Freeman News Service