AP News, April 13th, 2007
Diego Maradona was admitted with strong abdominal pains to a public hospital intensive care unit Friday and then transferred to a private clinic where he was listed in stable condition.
Doctors at Los Arcos Sanatorium clinic said late Friday that the Argentine soccer great was in stable condition and was undergoing lab tests as they sought to make a diagnosis.
"The patient is clinically stable and more studies are being done to determine the source of the abdominal pain," a brief statement said, without specifying the tests involved or whether Maradona remained in intensive care.
Two days earlier, he had been released from another clinic after treatment for acute hepatitis related to alcohol abuse.
Maradona was first taken by ambulance to Madre Teresa de Calcuta Hospital before dawn, but his personal doctor Alfredo Cahe said his condition was not life-threatening. After tests, Maradona was moved by ambulance to Los Arcos.
"Diego has been hospitalized. His life isn't in danger, he is in intensive care as a precaution," Cahe said after Maradona arrived at the first hospital Friday. "He had abdominal pain and ... we felt it prudent to bring him here."
Five hours later, the 47-year-old Maradona was transferred to Los Arcos with several television trucks and local reporters following his ambulance. Live reports of Maradona's latest hospitalization dominated newscasts in Argentina.
The latest health flare-up comes after Maradona was released Wednesday from another clinic, the Guemes Sanatorium, after two weeks of treatment for hepatitis and withdrawal from alcohol. Cahe said the pain could be a result of the treatment, but tests were being conducted.
Earlier, the director of the public hospital where Maradona was taken said he was "lucid" and cooperating with doctors.
"He is stable and conscious," Oscar Cicco said.
Cicco said Maradona would require hospitalization lasting two to three days.
Maradona had entered the private Guemes Sanatorium in Buenos Aires on March 28, suffering from what his doctor said was excessive consumption of alcohol and food and having smoked too many cigars.
Doctors warned Maradona upon his release to stop drinking and to eat moderately.
"If I don't do it, the only one who will be hurt is me," Maradona said Wednesday. "I'm going to complete my treatment."
Maradona was near death during hospitalizations in 2000 and 2004 blamed on cocaine addiction. Doctors said cocaine was not involved in his current health problems.
Revered in Argentina, Maradona led his country to the 1986 World Cup title and the final in 1990, before retiring in 1997, and is considered one of soccer's all-time greats.
