Time News Desk: BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia returned home on Friday evening after a 14-day stay in the capital’s Evercare Hospital for the treatment of her various health complications, including blockages in her arteries.

The BNP chief left the hospital at about 5:40pm and reached her Gulshan residence at about 6:10pm.

Earlier, at a press conference, the medical board formed to ensure Khaleda Zia’s treatment at the hospital, said that the ailing BNP chief was discharged from the hospital due to a risk of Covid infection as the virus cases were on the rise again in the country.

Shahabuddin Talukder, the head of the medical board, said, ‘Madame (Khaleda Zia) is still ill. But she’s now stable.

We don’t want to keep her here (hospital) now amid the surge in Covid cases. There’s a chance of Covid and other infections if she stays here now. ’

He also feared that her condition would be very critical if Khaleda Zia got a viral or bacterial infection. ‘That is why the full medical board has decided to release her from the hospital,’ he said.

The physician said that if there was any complication further, she would be admitted to the hospital immediately.

‘Bleeding complications are now a very challenging matter for her. She has a liver cirrhosis problem and is now at a high risk of bleeding. We overcame her kidney complications. There are still two blockages in her coronary arteries,’ he said.

Professor Shahabuddin said that Khaleda Zia would have to be kept under full monitoring even though she was going to stay at home.

He said that the doctors would ensure her proper treatment at her residence.

Shahabuddin said that they identified three blockages, including a culprit one with 95 per cent blockage, in the BNP chief’s arteries.

As per the international medical guidelines, he said that they set up a stent to remove only the blockage that was causing her chest pain and heart failure.

The physicians said that the BNP chairperson was facing renal and heart failure while they were removing her blockage. ‘Her kidneys could have been totally shut down as we tried to remove two other blockages. That’s why we didn’t remove those blockages,’ they said.

He also said that they treated Khaleda Zia by overcoming many challenges as she had liver cirrhosis, diabetes, kidney problems, and other comorbidities. ‘We e all shaky while treating her due to various challenges,’ he said.

The doctor also said that they might not save Khaleda Zia if she was not taken to the hospital immediately in the early hours of June 10.

Another medical board member, professor AFM Siddiqui, said that the BNP chief had many critical illnesses, including renal failure, chances of bleeding, and liver cirrhosis.

He said that since there was no treatment for liver cirrhosis in the country, they just stopped the bleeding spots through ligation. ‘But we have not been able to follow up on them. It’s becoming riskier to follow her up now due to her cardiac condition,’ he said.

The physician said that they had long been repeatedly talking about sending Khaleda Zia to an advanced centre for her comprehensive treatment of all critical diseases. ‘We don’t have that kind of centre and measures. That is why we have been saying that her proper and complete treatment is not possible in our country,’ he added.

Khaleda Zia’s personal doctor, Zahid Hossain, said that the BNP chief and her family members thanked everyone, including doctors, nurses, paramedics, and everyone involved with the management of the hospital, for providing her treatment with sincerity.

He said that the BNP chief also urged the country’s people to pray for her speedy recovery.

Khaleda Zia was admitted to Evercare Hospital on June 10 as she complained of chest pains.

Later, doctors said that she suffered a heart attack due to a 95 per cent blockage in her left artery, and a stent was placed there by removing the blockage.

A coronary angiogram revealed two more blockages in the arteries of the BNP chairperson.

She was shifted to a cabin from the Coronary Care Unit on June 15.

Khaleda Zia, a 76-year-old former prime minister, has long been suffering from various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, kidney, lung, and eye problems.

SK