CEBU CITY -- Representative Tomas Osmeña (Cebu City, south district) was rushed to the hospital on Saturday after suffering from fever, chills and stomach pains, an official said.
Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young said the former mayor was already having fever and stomach trouble Saturday morning but still went out for lunch with barangay officials.
“So he had chills. I insisted that he go to Chong Hua Hospital and rest. It’s just really precautionary,” the vice mayor said.
In a text message to Sun.Star Cebu, Young said Osmeña was already doing fine but decided to stay overnight for several check-ups.
Osmeña was having his feet massaged when reporters arrived in his hospital room upon the congressman’s invitation to have lechon with him.
Among his visitors were his son Miguel, Vice Mayor Young and Sto. Niño Barangay Captain Pancho Ramirez Sr.
Osmeña confirmed he had high fever and chills Saturday.
He and Young were in Barangay Taptap meeting with captains of the mountain barangays when he felt so cold that he couldn’t finish the meeting.
At the hospital, Osmeña was told he had an infection.
A blood culture was done to determine what infected him and what specific antibiotic is needed.
Results of the laboratory tests will be known in a couple of days.
In the meantime, the congressman received intravenous fluids to prevent dehydration, along with general antibiotics.
His wife, Councilor Margarita Osmeña, who was in Macau, will be arriving on Sunday.
The congressman told reporters he feels fine but “cannot run around.”
In 2002, Osmeña was rushed to the hospital after he collapsed inside the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral while attending a wedding, due to the sudden rise of his blood pressure.
In 2007, Osmeña was rushed to the hospital and had to undergo a minor surgery after complaining of extreme pain in his upper right thigh.
He went under the knife to ease the swelling on his thigh, which was caused by the punctures made during the angiogram. An angiogram is an X-ray test that uses fluoroscopy to take pictures of the blood flow within an artery or vein. It can detect a bulge, narrowing or blockage in a blood vessel that affects blood flow.
In 2008, Osmeña was diagnosed with urinary bladder cancer. He went on medical leave for about five months, ending in mid-2009, to undergo surgery and treatment in the United States. He first ran for Congress in May 2010.
