Aklan solon suffers mild stroke
KALIBO, Aklan-- Aklan Rep. Florencio Miraflores is recovering from a mild stroke after he was airlifted to Manila from here yesterday.
"He is okay. He is better than last night and his speech is okay," said the congressman's wife and Ibajay town Mayor Lourdes Miraflores in a telephone interview from the Philippine Health Center.
The mayor said her husband needs rest after spending days with little rest supervising relief work for flood victims in the capital town of Kalibo and other towns in Aklan.
Miraflores was taken to Manila on board a charted Asian Spirit plane at midnight Monday around six hours after he was rushed to the Dr. Rafael Tumbokon Memorial Hospital.
The congressman was on board his vehicle on his way home to his his hometown Ibajay when he complained of chest pains and difficulty in breathing. His speech was also becoming slurred.
Tests showed that the congressman's heartbeat was "fast and irregular," said Dr. Michael Florencio, hospital chief of clinic and one of the attending physicians, in an interview Sunday night. He said they were concerned that this could lead to cardiac arrest.
Attending physicians advised to have him airlifted because of the lack of equipment and electricity in the provincial hospital.
Miraflores, who turned 57 today, has been in the forefront of the relief operation in his province, which is among the hardest hit provinces of Panay Island by the typhoon.
Electricity and telephone services are still down a week after the typhoon as most residents have to waddle ankle-deep mud in most streets and villages. There is also a lack of potable water and affordable food.