Salman Rushdie’s health condition is still serious, but his characteristically feisty and combative sense of humour is still intact, said his son Zafar Rushdie on Sunday. Rushdie, 75, suffered serious injuries to his eye and abdomen after being stabbed on Friday at a literary event in New York. The Booker Prize laureate was taken off the ventilator and oxygen support on Saturday and was able to speak a few words.
‘Following the attack on Friday, my father remains in a critical condition in hospital receiving extensive ongoing medical treatment’, Zafar said on Twitter.
The audience who bravely jumped to Rushdie’s defence and provided first aid after he was stabbed numerous times at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York were thanked by the family. The family also expressed gratitude for the treatment received from the police and physicians, as well as for the worldwide outpouring of support and affection. ‘We ask for continued patience and privacy as the family comes together at his bedside to support and help him through this time’, the statement said. Rushdie’s agent Andrew Wylie said, ‘The road to recovery has begun. It will be long; the injuries are severe, but his condition is headed in the right direction’.
Rushdie, who received death threats for years after publishing The Satanic Verses, was stabbed on Friday by a 24-year-old named Hadi Matar, a US citizen of Lebanese descent.
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