A muscle injury has “seriously affected” the mobility of Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and could see him travelling to Cuba for treatment, his office announced on Monday.
“Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has sustained a muscular injury to his right thigh which has seriously affected his mobility. The muscle that is injured is called the rectus femoris,” the Office of the Prime Minister said in statement.
Gonsalves is being treated at home by a team of medical experts, including orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Charles Woods, physiotherapist Denis Byam, and Gonsalves’ personal physician, Dr. Elsworth Charles.
“The medical team has advised Prime Minister Gonsalves that recovery from this illness cannot be unduly rushed. He has been further advised to seek treatment abroad, and he is examining the possibility of treatment in Havana,” the release said.
“More information on this development will be released as it comes to hand.”
As a result of the injury, changes have been made to the delegation attending the 69th General Assembly of the United Nations.
Gonsalves and his wife, Eloise Gonsalves, will no longer be part of the delegation.
Instead, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sen. Camillo Gonsalves, will head the delegation, and will deliver the country’s address to the UN on Saturday.
Sen. Gonsalves will conduct all scheduled bi-lateral meetings, and will represent Prime Minister Gonsalves at all related meetings, including a panel discussion to be hosted by the United States Congressional Black Caucus, scheduled for Friday in Washington DC.
Minister of Agriculture, Saboto Caesar, will join Sen. Gonsalves, at the town hall meeting slated for Saturday, at the Friends of Crown Heights auditorium in Brooklyn, New York.
In April, the Prime Minister was confined to his official residence, for rest and recuperation as a result of an injury to his ankle.
In May, two weeks after he was ordered to rest, Gonsalves underwent a surgical procedure in Europe to correct a “niggling pain”.
“You may recall two years ago that on my way to the Middle East I developed a problem and had to seek medical attention in Barbados. And I had a small surgical procedure done.
“Well, I felt a few weeks ago a niggling pain where the procedure was done and I went to the person who did it in Barbados and he reviewed it and said to me that he understands what has happened and he’d have to do another minor procedure at the same place,” he later told reporters.
In July, he was seen walking with a slight limp, and told reporters that the problem was his knee.
“I injured it. I have to be more careful. But not injured it severely, I’m alright,” he said then.
Gonsalves turned 68 on Aug. 8 and has been prime minister since March 28, 2001.
Thrombosis. Too much travelling abroad at that age.
I contend that the PM’s long list of injuries and illnesses in recent years are directly linked to his weight problem and lack of rigorous exercise.
If I suck my teeth one more time they might drop out, but here goes Steupssssssssssss.
This is just silly, it’s so silly I don’t even feel like wasting time typing about it. Anytime the Prime Minister has to go anywhere that he thinks he is going to get different point of view than his own he is always injured. Just like the case of the reparations talk where the people in the US were waiting to expose him, they were waiting to ask him some serious questions in New York and lo and behold another injury just manifest. The man is a coward plain and simple and runs every chance he gets, up to now he won’t step foot in Canada.
And to add insult to injury he is sending his son to represent our country. This is the same son that got his job in New York and the PM said he didn’t know anything about. This same son is now all over the place representing us, aided by Caesar this time. I mean what kind of nonsense is this, Caesar is an elected official with the backing of his constituency, why is he a wing man to this Camillo guy, who no one ever voted for? It’s almost like Caesar is a secretaryor errand boy, I hope not but that’s how it appears to me.
Vincentians you all are letting this nonsense go to far. When are you all going to get rid of these guys? I use to have a little respect for Caesar but that is changing everyday. This is some real Kingdom stuff you all are playing with here. SVG is not a kingdom of anyone, Is this why they wanted to sever all ties with the queen to to make themselves Kings in our country? We have an egotist who walks around thinking he is better than us and people still support him? Lawd have mussy on SVG, Self hate is a hell of a thing eh.
If I were an elected minister of Government who was constantly being passed over to attend official government business abroad in favour of an unelected, nominated member of person; I would surely get the hump.
It speaks volumes of the competence of the elected ministers of government that none were deemed fit to address the UN.
Nepotism and cronyism appears to be the order of the day.
Or maybe this is all above board?
There is another way.
TOUCH NOT THE LORD,S ANOINTED AND DO HIS PROPHET NO HARM
It is clear to all the PM has little faith in the medical standards of MCH, every time he needs treatment he’s off to foreign lands.
I challenge the PM to avail himself of the medical services available to the citizens of SVG, The same medical services that he thinks are so good. He needs to go to the Milton Cato Hospital and get taken care of there. Why is he running away from his own country and the services that he contends are so good for the citizens of SVG? Tell you what, bet he is afraid that he wouldn’t survive. Be careful Mr. Prime Minister, you may be a victim of the circumstances you have created, and that you try to convince the citizenry are top drawer.
PM is afraid of DR Cutitoff so he has to avoid MCH. If he only enter MCH for treatment he foot gone for sure just like all the other Vincies whose foot he cut off for no good reason. Face yo own music.
you’re so right mr blane. everything you’ve said is absolutelt the truth.
for years the people of svg is making the pm and his unelected family feel god like. letting your son and cousin do what they want and treating the people likt sh….t, could never happen in quebec….look what we did to our premier, paulene marois. It time for the people of svg to learn from the west african proverb, to walk softly and carry a big stick and they will go far. They let the glen jackson went unsolve, and the shame of his death is upon us.
Ouch! Dah CUCUMBER HEEL, again.
Or, IS it really a case of GOING TO HIS CCCP of CUBA for HIS LATEST INSTRUCTIONS.
COPY-CAT continually, repeatedly upstaged the former CUBAN-TRAINED/INDOCTRINATED “foreign” ‘minister — – FOR YEARS – – – opting to speak at the annual General Assembly ‘imself.
Then, the DIMINISHED ‘cuban cadre’ sidelined ‘fareign minister’ was TOO POLITICALLY DISCREDITED TO ‘WIN’ ANYTHING – – – so COM-RED did NOT RE-RUN ‘im.
Yet, COM-RED appointed the UNELECTED, UNELECTABLE cuban cadre as he ‘farine minister’ still. EVEN though a lot of the ELECTED guys didn’t hah any ‘ting worth calling a “ministry”.
Then, COM-RED again sidelined the farine minister by removing ‘im TO MEK WAY FOR THE indisciplined UN-DIPLOMATIC DIPLOMAT who be pick communistic quarrel with the NYC policeman in order to advertise name and ‘gain’ supposedly “radical” ANTI-AMERICAN credentials – – – or so me Auntie Lottie say.
COM-RED by-passed he cronies like Ragga 007, YET AGAIN, and appointed he kid as SENATOR.
As if that nah enough, after the NON-COMPETITIVE appointments in the legal office and as ambassador with higher pay than even the PM ‘imself. The TWO HIGHEST PAID JOBS IN THE ENTIRE GOVERNMENT NOW GOING TO papa doc ‘SVG duvalier’ and politically spoilt ‘baby doc’ [without the ‘doc’]. TWO people in ONE HOUSEHOLD or FAMILY GETTING THE TWO HIGHEST SALARIES AND PERKS IN THE GOVERNMENT.
NOW, WE HAVE CONTRIVANCE, once again, WHERE THE OFFICIAL DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER IS AGAIN BY-PASSED TO FAVOUR BABY ‘DOC’ and GIVE HIM ‘EXPOSURE’ AND ‘STANDING’ to TEK OVER THE LABOUR PARTY THAT nemesis MILTON CATO built [doan roll in yuh grave, Sir Milts], Cato’s EAST ST. GEORGE riding, AND THE top job of PRIME MINISTER to boot. What a favoured meteoric rise for a political brat.
And, objectively ALL THE SHORT-KHAKI PANTS GUYS DEM just PRIVATELY stuupsing dey teeth AND ‘fraid fuh show they have COHONES — – or ‘balls’.
A communist despot seeks to duplicitously PROLONG HIS HOLD ON ILLEGITIMATE POLITICAL POWER AND EVEN EXTEND IT FOR EVER-WHERY.
HOW LONG are we in SVG going to HOLD WE NOSE AND STOMACH THIS POLITICAL – IDEOLOGICAL MESS and AFFRONTERY TO OUR POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY?
Quo vadis, HAIROUNA ?
SVG – – – QUO VADIS?
The PRICE OF FREEDOM is OUR INDIVIDUAL WATCHFULNESS AND – – – ???
NATIONAL VIGILANCE.