Sharon fights for life after massive stroke

JERUSALEM -- Doctors said Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will be kept in a coma-like state for up to three days to prevent further damage from a massive stroke. His sons held a bedside vigil and state media broadcast mournful songs.\nHadassah Hospital's switchboard was flooded with get-well messages and the nation's top rabbis called on Israelis to rush to synagogues and pray for the 77-year-old ex-general, whom many saw as the best hope for peace with the Palestinians.\nSharon's deputy, Ehud Olmert, tried to convey a sense of stability while serving as acting prime minister, but Sharon's dramatic downturn left Israelis fearful.\nThe Web site of the respected Haaretz daily quoted hospital officials as saying Sharon suffered vast brain damage.\nBut Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, Hadassah Hospital director, sought to quash widespread rumors that the prime minister was brain-dead. Sharon's pupils were responding to light, "which means the brain is functioning," he told reporters.\n"We are fighting for the life of the prime minister, with no compromise," he said.\nDr. Zeev Feldman, a neurosurgeon at Israel's Tel Hashomer Hospital who is not involved in Sharon's treatment, said the test results appeared encouraging.\n"I think this is good news. This information that the prime minister is reacting and they got reactions from him to stimulation is really a situation that can show that he is waking up after the operation," Feldman told Channel 2. "This is the first time that we have a positive (indication) regarding his condition."\nHowever, other neurosurgeons not involved in Sharon's treatment said a full recovery was unlikely after such a massive stroke. Sharon aides said they assume he would not return to work.\n"I'm worried about the future of this country, about everything in this country," said Rafael Levy, a 42-year-old construction engineer from Tel Aviv.\nSharon underwent seven hours of surgery Thursday at Hadassah Hospital after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He will remain sedated and on a respirator for two to three days to give him time to recover, and then he will be gradually awakened, hospital officials said. His sons, Omri and Gilad, were by his side at the neurological intensive care unit.\nPalestinians reacted with a mixture of glee at seeing the fall of their longtime enemy and apprehension at the instability that could follow. Some Palestinian leaders worried Sharon's illness could derail their Jan. 25 parliamentary elections. \n"We are watching with great worry at what might happen if he is harmed," Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said.\nForeign leaders, who embraced Sharon after his unilateral pullout from the Gaza Strip last year, also expressed concern.\nU.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised Sharon as "a man of enormous courage," and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he was praying for a miraculous recovery. \nJapanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi postponed a visit to the region, and two U.S. envoys who were set to arrive Thursday delayed their trip.\nUnder Israeli law, vice premier Olmert took office as acting prime minister. He held an emergency Cabinet meeting Thursday -- sitting beside Sharon's empty seat -- and said the government would continue to function.\n"This is a difficult situation," Olmert, a former Jerusalem mayor, told the ministers.\nHe later spoke with Abbas by telephone. The Palestinian leader expressed concern for Sharon and wished him a speedy recovery, Palestinian officials said.\nIsraeli Attorney General Meni Mazuz announced that the Israeli election would be held as planned. Sharon was to face off against the new head of his former Likud Party, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Labor Party leader Amir Peretz.\nSharon had been expected to win in a landslide as head of Kadima, which he formed after bolting Likud late last year. Many Likud lawmakers tried to torpedo the Gaza withdrawal and Sharon formed Kadima to free his hands to make further peace moves with the Palestinians.\nHis stroke clouded his party's prospects.\n"I can't see another person who will emerge who is as strong as Sharon," said political analyst Menachem Hofnung. "The party is in trouble"