The “blood cancer” bit is a hint.

Arafat is still amongst the living.

The likelihood is that no matter what else ails him, Arafat has Parkinson’s disease, and with that goes a myriad of potential complications to any illness.

Fever alone in Parkinson’s patients can produce disabling encephalopathy, hallucinations, severe bradykinesia (slowing of movements) including but not limited to inability to swallow safely and effectively often leading to aspiration and pneumonia. And that’s just from a fever!

In reading the reports from JPost and HaAretz, the various Pali reports were that he was “sleeping”, “in a coma”, “awake but hallucinating”, etc.

Arafat was reported originally to have had a viral syndrome with vomiting, diarrhea, etc. Later it was reported that his interval worsening was secondary to a gall stone, and if true, Arafat probably has bad cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder), which in the preantibiotic world was often lethal.

Either way his inability to keep his Parkinson’s meds down is also likely contributing to his reported worsening.

Nope, not dead yet.

[Burns voice]

Excellent…

[/Burns voice]

Or, as Chevy Chase used to say on SNL of Generalissimo Franco, he’s still dead.

Jamie Irons