A team of medical personnel looking after former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday said that his medical parole should be extended.
Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital honorary vice president Chen Shun-sheng (陳順勝), who is deputy convener of the team, handed over an official report produced by the team to Taichung Prison officials at the former president’s private residence.
In a joint press conference with Chang Gung Memorial Hospital vice president Chang Ming-yung (張明永), Chen Shun-sheng went through the report and said Taichung Prison officials would submit it to the Ministry of Justice as an important reference when deciding whether to extend Chen Shui-bian’s medical parole.
Chen Shun-sheng said he compiled the 300-page document by collecting reports from different medical specialists, including orthopedist Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘), Chen Shui-bian’s son-in-law.
Chen Shun-sheng said Chen Shui-bian is suffering from severe frontal-parietal degeneration of the brain, which has triggered Parkinson’s disease, language disorder, motion disorder, neurocognitive disorder, depression, incontinence and severe osteoporosis, with a bone density of just -3.8.
He added that although the former president’s sleep apnea has improved, his frontal-parietal degeneration continues, with the cause unclear, and he is unable to take care of himself.
Chen Shun-sheng said Chen Shui-bian is still getting used to life outside prison.
He said that, for instance, initially, when Chen Shui-bian was taking a shower, he thought the knob for hot water was a timer, and had been taking cold showers for several days.
In addition, he sometimes wakes up thinking he is still in prison, looking for the two cameras which were pointed at him in his cell.
Chen Shun-sheng said he would advise that Chen Shui-bian continue to be immersed in family life, which would help him to improve his depression and help prevent him from committing suicide.
Chang added that for these reasons, the medical team recommends that Chen Shui-bian’s medical parole be extended.
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