Cayetano better
after bleeding halted

A bacterial infection caused an ulcer;
his doctors say the bleeding won't recur

By Mike Yuen
Star-Bulletin

It was a bleeding ulcer that weakened Gov. Ben Cayetano, causing him to collapse at Washington Place early yesterday morning, said first lady Vicky Cayetano and Kathleen Racuya-Markrich, the governor's press secretary.

The bleeding has stopped and Cayetano, 57, is in fair condition, feeling much better, they added.

The governor could be released from Queen's Hospital as early as this afternoon or tomorrow, Racuya-Markrich said.

He has been diagnosed with a small duodenum ulcer 1 centimeter in diameter, Racuya-Markrich said.

The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine, between the stomach and the middle part of the small intestine.

Vicky Cayetano said blood tests revealed that her husband's bleeding ulcer was caused by a bacterial infection.

It was not linked to Cayetano's daily use of a low-dose aspirin to thin his blood and help his cardiovascular system, she added.

"The doctors have given him antibiotics. They're just about 100 percent sure that the bleeding will not reoccur," said the first lady. "I'm really, really relieved. It's relatively minor."

Cayetano lost consciousness when he got out of bed shortly before 1 a.m.

The first lady said she found her husband crumpled on the floor with his eyes open but unable to move or talk.

"It was scary," she explained. Although she knows cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid, she was ill-prepared, she acknowledged.

"I was too close to the situation. It was really hard. When it's someone so close to you, the emotions take over," explained Vicky Cayetano, 41, who married the governor four months ago.

She did manage to make the 911 emergency call.

An ambulance rushed the governor to nearby Queen's Hospital, where he was placed in a private room in the neuroscience intensive care unit.

Doctors believe Cayetano may have been bleeding internally for about a week. They gave him an infusion of slightly more than a pint of blood to make up for his blood loss, the first lady said.

While it is the city's standard policy to release audio copies of emergency calls when requested by news organizations, Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris decided to withhold the tape of the first lady's call.

Harris, seen by many as a potential challenger to Cayetano in the Democratic gubernatorial primary next year, concluded that the tape wasn't crucial to reporting the story, said city Managing Director Bob Fishman.

"It was his judgment that (releasing the tape) would hurt people and sensationalize the story," Fishman said.

"And we have the authority to withhold. There are substantial privacy interests that outweigh the media claim for the tape because the tape has an emergency medical services professional giving medical advice to Mrs. Cayetano. Therefore, the tape merits privacy under doctor-patient confidentiality."

The Cayetanos' position as the first couple did not influence Harris' decision, Fishman said. Nor did the raging debate over media access and privacy rights as a result of Princess Diana's fatal car crash in Paris, Fishman added.

With Cayetano hospitalized, Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono has stepped in to sign some state documents. But, she stressed, she is not acting governor. Cayetano remains the head of state even though he's recuperating, Hirono said.

Hirono said she will be the ranking state official to greet Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui when he arrives in Honolulu tomorrow for a 30-hour stopover en route to Panama.

Lee's 16-day journey, which includes state visits to Honduras, El Salvador and Paraguay, also has a stopover in Honolulu on his way back to Taiwan.