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Cancer-stricken former President Corazon Aquino left the intensive care unit and was in stable condition as prayers for her recovery poured in from friends and even political enemies.
Aquino, who is battling colon cancer, has decided to forgo further chemotherapy or any other medical treatment, her spokeswoman Deedee Sytangco said yesterday.
The 76-year-old democracy icon was admitted to the ICU of the Makati Medical Center last week after she stopped eating, Sytangco said.
?She?s stable and she?s conscious,? Sytangco told The Associated Press. She refused to provide details and Aquino?s family appealed for ?solitude and privacy.?
Sytangco said Aquino was moved to a private room, in a decision ?she and her children made in consultation with her doctors.? Family members rushed to her bedside.
The former president was diagnosed with stage-four colon cancer last year. She had been undergoing chemotherapy, but was no longer receiving treatment, Sytangco said.
Aquino?s former Cabinet members, friends and supporters gathered at a chapel near the hospital for the second day of nine days of noon Masses offering prayers for her recovery.
In Cebu, the nuns at the Carmelite convent in barangay Mabolo in Cebu City are constantly praying for her.
?We have been praying for her even before she got sick. What more at this time?? a Carmelite nun told Cebu Daily News.
The nun, who asked not to be named, said they received a phone call when Aquino was diagnosed with colon cancer. ?We do not have to mention her name during our prayers, but we are always praying for her,? she said.
Aquino's political nemesis also wished her well.
Bejeweled former first lady Imelda Marcos, whose late husband Ferdinand was deposed by a 1986 ?people power? revolt that catapulted Aquino to power, marked her 80th birthday yesterday with a short prayer for Aquino ? whose administration she has derided in the past.
?Cory Aquino is fighting for her life. Let us pray for her health,? Marcos said before she bowed her head.
In an interview last month, she called Aquino a ?usurper? and a ?dictator.?
U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney said the American people are inspired by Aquino?s personal strength.
?She?s been a strong person ... for this country for so many years,? she said.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whom Aquino criticized last month for ?shamelessly abusing" her authority also prayed for Aquino?s recovery.
?We will constantly be in prayer for her speedy recovery and we will also pray for strength and faith for the family of the former president, especially in their trying times,? said Anthony Golez, deputy presidential spokesperson.
Golez said it did not matter if Aquino was a constant critic of Arroyo.
The family of Aquino has placed their faith in ?God?s infinite healing power.?
Aquino?s hospitalization was ?necessary? because of loss of appetite, which was caused by ?fluid build-up in her stomach area,? according to a statement released by the office of her son, Senator Benigno Aquino III.
The Aquino family also thanked the nation for the ?prayers and outpouring of love and concern for our mother.?
?She has and always will be a woman of faith, a fighter, a source of hope and inspiration for all of us, not just her family but our entire nation as well,? the statement read.
?Just like she has always taught us by her life's example, we entrust everything to God,? it added.
The statement was also read by Doctor Eric Nubla, head of patient relations at the Makati Medical Center where Aquino is confined.
Nubla said the former president?s daughter, television host Kris Aquino, released the statement to him through telephone.
Aquino was a humble homemaker propelled to politics by the 1983 assassination of her husband, opposition leader Benigno ?Ninoy? Aquino Jr. She later led a peaceful uprising in 1986 that toppled late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and became a harbinger of nonviolent protests around the world.
She stepped down in 1992 but remained active in social and political causes. Before her illness, she joined protest rallies calling for the resignation of Arroyo over allegations of vote-rigging and corruption.
Among those who attended Mass for Aquino?s recovery was former President Joseph Estrada ? who was ousted on corruption charges and replaced by Arroyo in the country?s second ?people power? revolt in 2001. ?
