Sheba denies planned transfer of Ariel Sharon to his ranch

Sheba Medical Center denies knowledge of transfer of former prime minister who has been locked in a deep coma for nearly five years after devastating hemorrhagic stroke.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Sycamore Ranch 311 (photo credit: Benjamin Joffe-Walt / TML Photos)
Sycamore Ranch 311
(photo credit: Benjamin Joffe-Walt / TML Photos)
Sheba Medical Center, which has been treating former prime minister Ariel Sharon – locked in a deep coma for nearly five years after a devastating hemorrhagic stroke – said on Thursday night that it had not been consulted about any transfer from its rehabilitation department to his ranch.
The Tel Hashomer hospital was reacting to a story on Wednesday in Yediot Aharonot claiming that Sharon’s two sons have decided to take him to the Negev ranch for a few days for a trial run to see if he can be maintained successfully at home and then later to transfer him permanently.
The hospital management said that during the past two years, after it managed to stabilize his condition, it has been trying to arrange to transfer Sharon to his home at the Sycamore Ranch in coordination with the family. But these efforts have been “fruitless because the family opposed it.”
“Among other things, they were pleased with the outstanding medical and nursing care he received in the department,” the hospital management said.
The management added that it was “surprised” by the article’s headline – “Arik Sharon is returning to the ranch” – as such a transfer is so complicated medically and logistically that it has to be carried out in coordination with the hospital out of concern for the patient’s welfare.
The hospital has not received any practical request for advice or assistance to transfer Sharon to the ranch for a short time or permanently, management said. If this is indeed the family’s decision, the hospital staff welcomes the decision in the belief that it would be better for “Everybody’s Arik” to live out his life in the ranch surrounded by his loved ones and in familiar surroundings that he loved, rather than in his hospital room.
If asked about transferring Sharon, hospital management concluded that it would do all that it could to help, in consultation with experts on the necessary medical equipment and training the doctors, nurses and technicians who will take it upon themselves to look after him.