Ariel Sharon Suffers Renal Failure, Is Near Death

Former Israeli PM has been in a coma since 2006
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 1, 2014 2:17 PM CST
Ariel Sharon Suffers Renal Failure, Is Near Death
In this Sunday, Jan. 30, 2005 file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pauses during the weekly cabinet meeting in his Jerusalem office.   (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, Pool, File)

After spending the last eight years in a vegetative state, Ariel Sharon's condition has taken a drastic turn for the worse, says a spokesman for the Tel Aviv hospital caring for him. The former Israeli PM has suffered renal failure, reports the BBC, and sources tell Haaretz that if he doesn't show improvement, it's "a matter of days." Sharon, 85, suffered a major stroke in 2006 and has been in a coma ever since, though Haaretz notes that neurological scans in January showed significant brain activity. (More Ariel Sharon stories.)

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