The doctors began the process of easing Sharon out of his induced coma this morning, and he began breathing on his own shortly afterwards. He is still connected to a respirator, however.
Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yoseph, Director of Hadassah in Ein Karem, Jerusalem, said later in the afternoon that Sharon had moved his right hand and leg, and that together with a slight in rise in blood pressure, signs of brain activity are indicated.
Prof. Felix Umansky, head of the hospital's neurosurgery department, also spoke with reporters. He said that Sharon's limb movements were definitively not reflexive, but rather clear responses to pain. Umansky said it could take "days" to know whether Sharon had suffered cognitive damage.
Mor-Yosef emphasized that the process of awakening the Prime Minister could take hours or even days. It involves gradually reducing the dosage of the sedatives. Only at the end of the process, Mor-Yoseph said, will it be possible to evaluate the extent of the damage caused to Sharon's brain and his chances of full recovery.
"This is not a dramatic process," Prof. Mor-Yosef said this morning. "The fact that he is beginning to breathe on his own is the first change; we will not brief you about every change that occurs, but we felt that this one is of great interest, and therefore we are announcing it."
Sharon underwent a CAT scan yesterday (Sunday), after which Mor-Yoseph said that the liquids in the patient's cranium had drained significantly, and the image of the brain was clearer. No changes for the worse were registered over night, allowing the doctors to go ahead with their plan to ease the Prime Minister out of his coma today.
One of the surgeons who operated on Sharon, Dr. Husa Cohen, said recently that some patients in Sharon's situation "do not survive, while others return to work - such that there is a wide range of possibilities... He will certainly remain with some cognitive damage, as this occurs even in much less severe strokes."
Sharon has undergone three operations since his emergency hospitalization on Wednesday night: a seven-hour operation at first, a two-hour affair on Thursday morning, and a nearly four-hour operation on Friday.
Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yoseph, Director of Hadassah in Ein Karem, Jerusalem, said later in the afternoon that Sharon had moved his right hand and leg, and that together with a slight in rise in blood pressure, signs of brain activity are indicated.
Prof. Felix Umansky, head of the hospital's neurosurgery department, also spoke with reporters. He said that Sharon's limb movements were definitively not reflexive, but rather clear responses to pain. Umansky said it could take "days" to know whether Sharon had suffered cognitive damage.
Mor-Yosef emphasized that the process of awakening the Prime Minister could take hours or even days. It involves gradually reducing the dosage of the sedatives. Only at the end of the process, Mor-Yoseph said, will it be possible to evaluate the extent of the damage caused to Sharon's brain and his chances of full recovery.
"This is not a dramatic process," Prof. Mor-Yosef said this morning. "The fact that he is beginning to breathe on his own is the first change; we will not brief you about every change that occurs, but we felt that this one is of great interest, and therefore we are announcing it."
Sharon underwent a CAT scan yesterday (Sunday), after which Mor-Yoseph said that the liquids in the patient's cranium had drained significantly, and the image of the brain was clearer. No changes for the worse were registered over night, allowing the doctors to go ahead with their plan to ease the Prime Minister out of his coma today.
One of the surgeons who operated on Sharon, Dr. Husa Cohen, said recently that some patients in Sharon's situation "do not survive, while others return to work - such that there is a wide range of possibilities... He will certainly remain with some cognitive damage, as this occurs even in much less severe strokes."
Sharon has undergone three operations since his emergency hospitalization on Wednesday night: a seven-hour operation at first, a two-hour affair on Thursday morning, and a nearly four-hour operation on Friday.