Nelson Mandela ‘is fine and getting better’, says wife Graca as 94-year-old apartheid hero recovers from pneumonia
Nelson Mandela is 'fine' and 'getting
better and better' according to his wife Graca Machel - adding to
positive updates on the former South African president's recovery from
pneumonia.
Her comments are the latest good news on the 94-year-old's condition following his week of hospital treatment in Pretoria.
It is the third hospital visit for the former anti-apartheid leader since December when he underwent treatment for gallstones and a lung infection.
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'Madiba [Mr Mandela's clan
name] is fine, Madiba is getting better and better,' the priGraca Mvate
eNCA news channel quoted her as saying.
'He is in hospital simply because the doctors want to be absolutely sure that he is strong enough to go home and nothing is going to recur.'
Mr Mandela was admitted to a Pretoria hospital at about midnight on Wednesday. The nation, and his supporters around the world has waited anxiously for news of his condition.
The iconic former leader's health has become increasingly fragile in recent years.
Mr Mandela became South Africa's first black president in 1994 after elections were held, bringing an end to the system of white racist rule known as apartheid.
Following his release
from prison in 1990, he was widely credited with averting even
greater bloodshed by helping the country's transition to democratic
rule.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been vulnerable to respiratory problems since contracting tuberculosis during his 27-year imprisonment for fighting white racist rule in his country.
The elderly are especially vulnerable to pneumonia, symptoms of which can include fever, chills, a cough, chest pain and shortness of breath.
Her comments are the latest good news on the 94-year-old's condition following his week of hospital treatment in Pretoria.
It is the third hospital visit for the former anti-apartheid leader since December when he underwent treatment for gallstones and a lung infection.
Scroll down for video:
Improving: Nelson Mandela has been in hospital for more than a week as doctors treat him for the symptoms of pneumonia
Positive: Graca Machel, Mr Mandela's wife, said the former South African leader is getting 'better and better'
'He is in hospital simply because the doctors want to be absolutely sure that he is strong enough to go home and nothing is going to recur.'
Mr Mandela was admitted to a Pretoria hospital at about midnight on Wednesday. The nation, and his supporters around the world has waited anxiously for news of his condition.
The iconic former leader's health has become increasingly fragile in recent years.
Mr Mandela became South Africa's first black president in 1994 after elections were held, bringing an end to the system of white racist rule known as apartheid.
Reclusive: Mr Mandela last made a public
appearance on a major stage when South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup.
He is pictured here with his wife Graca Machel during the closing
ceremony in Johannesburg
Treatment: Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria where Mr Mandela is reportedly being treated for pneumonia
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been vulnerable to respiratory problems since contracting tuberculosis during his 27-year imprisonment for fighting white racist rule in his country.
The elderly are especially vulnerable to pneumonia, symptoms of which can include fever, chills, a cough, chest pain and shortness of breath.
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