What is ALS and how does it affect patients 1:32
(CNN Spanish) --
Former Argentine senator Esteban Bullrich, who suffers from a degenerative disease known as ALS, remains hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital in the province of Buenos Aires, according to a new medical report this Thursday.
Bullrich is "stable, under sedation, with mechanical ventilation and being treated for pneumonia," they reported from the Austral Hospital a day after he was admitted and the doctors decided to perform a percutaneous tracheostomy and put him on mechanical ventilation for what they had qualified. as a "respiratory distress picture".
Bullrich was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in February 2021. It is a progressive disease that affects motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, the same disease that physicist Stephen Hawking suffered from.
In the latest update on his health, the doctors said that "the family thanks you for so many demonstrations of affection and continues to ask you to accompany them with your prayers."
A few days before he was hospitalized, the former Catholic senator posted an emotional message on his social media accounts.
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Messages of support for Bullrich multiply
The news of Bullrich's admission to Hospital Austral triggered a series of messages of support from politicians from across the Argentine spectrum.
Bullrich belongs to the party founded and headed by the center-right businessman Mauricio Macri, president from 2015 to 2019. In 2017, at the best moment of his career, Bullrich headed the list of national senators that defeated Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in the province of Buenos Aires, the most powerful district in Argentina.
One of those who spoke was President Alberto Fernández, who posted on Twitter: "#FuerzaEsteban! I have met you and treated you. I know your worth as a human being. I always valued your vocation to overcome differences to work for a better Argentina. Today, in the fight you are fighting, you should know that I am by your side. I wish you a speedy recovery. I accompany you with all my affection and also your family".
"The disease progressed very quickly"
Marcela Capuano, a woman who also suffers from ALS and who met Bullrich last year, spoke Thursday on CNN Radio Argentina about the disease.
“I met Esteban Bullrich a year ago at a book presentation.
I wanted to meet him, he has the same as me and I feel a lot of empathy with him, ”he told La Mañana de CNN.
“A year ago he was pretty good: he could walk, he could talk – not much but he could move.
Unfortunately, this disease is very cruel and it depends on how it grips each one if it progresses faster or not, "she assured.
And she also said: "I feel very sad for him, the disease progressed very quickly."
Esteban Bullrich in 2021: "What defines me is how I deal with the disease"
How does Bullrich's youngest daughter live her illness?
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In May 2021, in an interview on Conecta2, Bullrich delved into his medical condition.
"This disease does not define me, what defines me is how I deal with the disease," he said in the interview with María O'Donnell and Ernesto Tenenbaum that you can read here.
Months later, in December, the then senator decided to resign from his seat.
"With all the pain in the world and the frustration of not having an alternative, I want to announce my resignation from the position of senator of the province of Buenos Aires. Being part of it has been one of the greatest honors of my life," he said at the time, according to Télam slogan.
"Reality imposes this decision on me and ALS has taught me, fundamentally, to accept reality."
The senator said that his last activity there would be an inclusive education project of which he was the author and stated: "I am going to continue looking for a better country for my children."
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis