Wednesday, 23 November 2005Doctors treating George Best say the former footballer had a bad night during which his condition worsened.
Best, 59, partly regained consciousness on Tuesday after being taken off sedation at Cromwell Hospital, west London. This caused initial optimism.
But his condition worsened between 0100 and 0200GMT on Wednesday, prompting doctors to change his medication and he has since become more settled.
Best's health deteriorated on Friday when he developed a lung infection.
It followed weeks of bad health.
He was admitted to Cromwell Hospital on 1 October with flu-like symptoms, and earlier this month battled a kidney infection.
'Tremendous fighter'
Doctors have re-sedated Best following his overnight deterioration and subsequent treatment, although they hope to reverse this procedure.
The football legend is still on a ventilator and is said to be critical but stable.
Professor Williams, who oversaw the former Manchester United and Northern Ireland star's liver transplant in 2002, said on Tuesday that Best was a "tremendous fighter".
"None of us have seen anybody come through as many serious complications as he's had - he must be a very strong person inside," he said.
"All of us have been very excited by the fact that when the sedation was removed he regained some level of response."
But he added: "He's so generally ill and can be affected very easily by any infection, by any setback that occurs in ITU [intensive care unit], but nevertheless he's better than he was.
"What we hope is over the next 24 hours his brain will recover further so that he can come off a ventilator."
Best, who has battled alcoholism for years, at the weekend allowed the News of the World to print a photograph taken of him in hospital as a warning about the dangers of alcohol.
He had asked for the picture to be taken before being transferred into intensive care, the paper said.
In it, Best looked gaunt with a yellow pallor due to his malfunctioning liver, with tubes attached to his bruised body.
BBC News
November 23, 2005 |
Wednesday, 23 November 2005
BBC News
|
|
