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One Plus One TV, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 17 Jan 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jan 17, 2004
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[Presenter] Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma returned to Kiev today after
medical treatment in Baden-Baden, Germany. Kuchma's rehabilitation course in
Germany lasted for three weeks. It followed an intestine surgery which
Kuchma had underwent in Ukraine [in November]. Kuchma is grateful to Germans
for their hospitality and will start working soon.
[Correspondent] Leonid Kuchma spent three weeks in Baden-Baden. He
celebrated New Year's Eve there too. Both German doctors and Kuchma himself
say that the course was useful. The improvement in the patient's general
condition is the main objective of Max Grundig Klinik at which Kuchma was
treated. [Passage omitted: the clinic's profile]
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Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma arriving in Kyiv from Germany on Saturday, January 17, 2004 met by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych (left) and Parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn
Photo by Valerii Soloviov, President of Ukraine website
(Click on images to enlarge them)
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Kuchma was treated by one of the clinic's four leading physicians, Peter
Mauer, a 52-year-old gastroenterologist. Maurer told our programme that the
Ukrainian patient had undergone a very intensive course of physical therapy
because his organism was exhausted as a result of the surgery and had lost
much protein. Kuchma received a course of physio-therapy, rehabilitation and
an electro-physiology programme. Kuchma was administered amino acids,
mineral substances and vitamins. Mauer said that it was a standard treatment
for people who lose up to 25 per cent of their strength following surgery.
In Mauer's words, now Kuchma's strength has been restored.
[Mauer, speaking by phone, overlaid with Ukrainian translation] Your
president at first glance looks like a 45-50-year-old man. He is very
athletic. Thank God, athletic people in case of surgery have a lot of
reserves and, after an expected loss of strength due to the lack of motion,
could easily restore their strength.
[Correspondent] The doctor as well as the patient denied that any serious
problems appeared during the treatment.
[Mauer] I'd say that your life today, my life today is in more danger if we
go 10 km by car than the president's life. The only danger which he could
face today is the flight from Baden-Baden to Kiev. This is the only danger
for today and the next five years. This is a joke, of course, but this is
true. Otherwise, his health is 100 per cent excellent. I can guarantee this.
[Correspondent] To confirm that the treatment was normal, the presidential
press service reported that Kuchma had had a range of meetings with certain
officials in Germany to discuss Ukrainian-German consultations which are due
to be held in Kiev in February.
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Photo by Valerii Soloviov, President of Ukraine Website
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Photo by Valerii Soloviov, President of Ukraine Website
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[EDITOR'S NOTE: There were many rumors and non-verifiable stories
circulating in the US, in Ukraine, and elsewhere this past week about the
exact condition of President Kuchma's health. They ranged from his expected
death in Germany, to his imminent death in a few weeks, to him having
terminal cancer and not expected to live out the year 2004 and so forth.]
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 and Parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn','Photo by Valerii Soloviov, President of Ukraine website'))
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