Sebastian stable, will undergo more tests

Two days after suffering a stroke due to hypertension, former weightlifter and SEA Games gold medalist Jaime Sebastian remained confined at the Chinese General Hospital where he is still expected to undergo a battery of tests.

The 52-year-old Sebastian, winner of 17 gold medals in the SEA Games, collapsed inside the ticketing office of the Philippine Tennis Association of the Rizal Memorial Sports Center Tuesday afternoon.

The retired Air Force man was rushed to the nearby Manila Sanitarium. When his condition stabilized, he was transferred to the CGH. He was never taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) despite suffering his second stroke in nearly two years.

His wife Roselle, who works as venue head of the athletes lounge at the RMSC, said the vocal former president of the Athletes and Coaches Association of the Philippines (ACAP) is conscious and able to move and speak.

Initial results of an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) test conducted yesterday morning, however, revealed a ruptured vein on Sebastian’s head.

"I have yet to see the results because I was just informed through a text message by a relative. I hope it’s not that serious," said Roselle who rushed back to the hospital after hearing the news.

Employees of the Philta ticketing office said they were just having a chat when Sebastian fell ill, trembled and fell to the ground. As he lay unconscious, Sebastian, they said, snored, so they knew he was alive.

"He was snoring loud although he was unconscious," said Lita Villa, a Philta employee.

"What I know is that it’s a bad sign if a person snores under that condition. But Jaime is a very strong man."

Villa said that they were not talking about a planned protest action by ACAP members against the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) leadership when Sebastian fell ill.

"We were just chatting. In fact, what he was saying just some days ago that he is no longer part of these protest actions. And that he knew nothing about it anymore," said Villa.

After retiring as an athlete, coach and Air Force man a couple of years back, Sebastian was hired as consultant of the PSC, the government’s funding arm in sports, but was still linked with personalities behind the protest actions.