'Annisul Huq off ventilator, showing good prognosis'

Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Annisul Huq, currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in London, is breathing normally and making eye contact, his wife Rubana Huq has said.

"As of today, he is off ventilator and breathing on his own. He has been  making eye contact with his doctor. He has been blinking with everything that we convey to him," she said in a Facebook post on Saturday.

 "Doctor just told me that they are happy with the stability and that they are hoping by next week we should know more about his recovery process," Annisul's wife said in the post.

She said it would be weeks before he does 'anything meaningful'. "But we are not running out of time. Life will probably not be back to a 100%, but it may be back to a more meaningful one. I am certainly hoping and praying for that path to set in for both of us."

Rubana also wrote 'gossips, rumors and fake news' about Annisul's condition saddened her, reports bdnews24.com.
She said in a statement over two weeks ago that the doctors kept Annisul 'sedated as they wanted his brain to be under full rest'. He is suffering from cerebral vasculitis or inflammation of the blood vessel wall involving the brain.

The mayor went to London to see his daughter and newborn grandchild in July and fell ill the next month. He lost consciousness while going through medical tests on Aug 4 and was admitted to the hospital.

Abdun Noor Tushar, a director at Huq's Nagorik TV, said in a Facebook post after speaking to Rubana earlier on Saturday: "Doctors are gradually reducing the dosage of medicine and giving him the next level of treatment."  Tushar, a doctor by training, also urged people not to spread rumours about Annisul's health.