Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been discharged from hospital after undergoing emergency surgery due to a brain hemorrhage. The doctors said.
The 79-year-old appeared alongside his medical team at a press conference at the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital in Sao Paulo.
He said, “This is not an interview, it is just a session to express thanks. First of all, I thank God who took care of me in a very generous way.”
Lula was taken to hospital on Monday after complaining of a severe headache.
Doctors performed a craniotomy on the president, a procedure in which a portion of bone is surgically removed from the skull to treat bleeding and relieve pressure. The bones are then replaced.
A statement from the hospital said that the brain hemorrhage or bleeding inside the skull resulted from a blow to the head that he suffered when he fell in his bathroom at the presidential residence in October.
“Thank you so much for your prayers,” Lula added on Sunday. “And for those who only have hatred, forgive me. I am here, alive, whole, and with a greater desire to work.”
Doctors said on Tuesday that the president was in stable condition after surgery and was conscious.
They added that Lula was “lucid” and speaking with medical staff.
They also insisted that he had not suffered any brain injury and was not suffering from the effects of surgery.
When asked when he would return to the capital, the doctors said that if all goes well, they expect Lula to return to Brasilia “next week.”
While Lula was in the hospital, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin took over some of the president's obligations.
Doctors said the bleeding was the result of Lola's fall in October.
They explained that it is not uncommon for problems caused by a blow to the head to appear “months later.”
Lula slipped in the bathroom at the Alvorada Palace on October 19 and hit the back of his head. He explained on Sunday that he was clipping his toenails at the time and was sitting.
He went to get five stitches. On the advice of his doctors, the President canceled his scheduled trip to Russia to attend the BRICS summit.
He returned to his full duties days later.
Lula has been in power since January last year after narrowly defeating current President Jair Bolsonaro in bitterly contested elections.
During the election campaign, he often joked that he had “the energy of a 30-year-old.”
Additional reporting by Malu Corsino
