Prime Minister Philip "Brave" Davis during his contribution to the 2024-25 Budget Debate in the House of Assembly on June 5, 2024. Photo: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff
By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS
Tribune Staff Reporter
lmunnings@tribunemedia.net
HEALTH Minister Dr Michael Darville said Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis battled with sciatica for a “few months”, adding that he suffered excruciating pain in one of his legs when he stood.
“This has been going on for a few months,” Dr Darville said during his contribution to the weekly press briefings at the Office of the Prime Minister.
“I don’t know if you could see if sometimes the Prime Minister is in some pain and we have been looking at it and so he is going to do further studies and I am sure they would be conclusive of an MRI where the compression on the nerve fibre is.”
In a press statement on Friday, the Office of the Prime Minister said Mr Davis was travelling to the United States to undergo treatment to address the compression of the sciatic nerve.
The Cleveland Clinic defines the condition as irritation, inflammation, pinching or compression that affects one or more nerves that run down your lower back and into your legs. The condition is said not to be serious, with severe cases needing surgery.
“Usually he is fine with sitting, it’s when he stands up he does have excruciating, radiating pain, particularly running down one of his legs. I think it’s the right leg,” Dr Darville said.
Dr Darville declined to speak to the prime minister’s course of treatment, saying “he is in good spirits, he is doing extremely well.” He, however, noted the condition is not severe but “very uncomfortable”.
Ahead of this medical surgery, Prime Minister Davis was attending a series of meetings and events in London, including at the African Leadership Summit, where he delivered a keynote address promoting The Bahamas as a premier destination for global partnerships and investments.
Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper will serve as Acting Prime Minister in his absence.
Comments
ThisIsOurs 5 months ago
This is very common. It's why people who lift heavy weights wear support belts. Bend at the knees not the waist or hips to lift objects and of course, obesity, joint and worsened, back pain go hand in hand.
Standing with a pinched nerve while bearing excessive body fat can be very painful, lose the weight do some stretching and it's like night and day (severe cases excluded).
I actually dont blame the PM for going, find the best doctor possible! And when you are there, think of all of the rest of us that you are supposed to care about, who have to be subjected to test lab procedures. Make sure this new hospital and the limited services its offering is not being designed to protect someone's pocket.
bahamianson 5 months ago
The prime minister left the bahamas when he had covid. His daughter wanted jim close to her. He went to a state where his daughter didnt live . He went there to be treat3d for covid while his bahamian slaves died with covid. Does a leader abandon his people or is the leadet an example to his people. Bahamians died because they dis not have any of his money or privilege. He is an elitist . Captains go down with their ships, but not our prime minister. He says everyone must save themselves.
ThisIsOurs 5 months ago
He may be an elitist but when it comes to someone putting instruments inside your body and cutting or moving things around, I dont begrudge anybody for taking the best option they can. What I do demand of him is that he does not play with this new hospital, it will likely mean life or death for most of the rest of us and he should realize that and should care about it, I'm not sure that he does. I'm not sure if theyve actually done any study to determine the most pressing medical needs for the public or whether they just grabbed on PR initiatives, babies and pregnant women, both important.. but Dr Darville just spoke about the number of elderly persons who are left at the hospital, will that be an even greater future need? Did they even consider it? What about cancer patients? What about kidney patients? What about a better ER?
The PM seems to be off somehow.
ExposedU2C 5 months ago
You make me laugh when you say, "I don't begrudge anybody for taking the best option they can."
But you certainly should begrudge Coward Davis and the ruling political elite for leaving most Bahamians without access to similar quality medical care in The Bahamas for fairly common ailments of the kind he always goes abroad to receive treatment for.
His ailment is a common one for overweight people and most Bahamians afflicted with it are forced by their financial circumstances to receive treatment in The Bahamas. Keep in mind the vast majority of Bahamians cannot afford the exceptionally comprehensive and generous medical insurance that Coward Davis and fellow parliamentarians enjoy at great expense to the taxpayers.
Porcupine 5 months ago
And, when the pain for all Bahamians becomes inevitably worse over time, due to the overbearing weight of excessive taxation, and ignorant bureaucrats, rest assured Davis and most other over-paid and overweight MPs will be off to their other destinations. Not so for the vast majority of the rest of us hapless Bahamians. The writing is on the wall, due in large part to the words of these politicians not matching any such deeds, yet somehow these politicians keep coming out of office with much more money than they had going in. The fear of a robust Freedom of Information Act is that The Bahamas does not have enough jail cells for all those politicians who would almost certainly be remanded behind bars.
rosiepi 5 months ago
The PM obviously hasn’t followed his doctor’s orders, not surprising since rules and cautionary advice doesn’t sit well with him. That would have been the advice to loose weight!
ThisIsOurs 5 months ago
Losing weight would help with almost any condition you cN think of. I almost feel like we should declare this a national emergency, a crisis, and 2 hours of the work day for every citizen should be devoted to exercise and access to one good salad. It would have a dramatic impact on everything.
But there are so many kinds of back injury who knows what he has, if severe, surgery would be the only relief. And dont be letting just anybody play up in your back.
bahamianson 5 months ago
Bring the sugar tax alcohol tax and cholesterol tax. We need them to save us from ourselves
ThisIsOurs 5 months ago
I just ordered a chicken combo from Wendy's. I dont eat fast food often it began to taste like paper , almost 2 years, anyway, it was 11.95. To say I was shocked would put it mildly. The last time I purchased I recall it was around 7 dollars. The line was very long. Taxing food sounds good but people will adjust to a certain extent. To really change the mind has to be altered, and taste buds reprogrammed
ExposedU2C 5 months ago
Only the dumb and/or undisciplined eat the kinds of unhealthy bio and/or chemically engineered processed foods served by the American fast food chains. Life is short as it is and that type of food is deadly.
Our parents, grandparents and great grand parents ate much more unprocessed fresh fish, fruits and vegetables than we consume today and were rewarded for it by fewer types and lower levels of chronic disease not to mention longer life spans.
Coward Stumpy Davis is well known to crave both his grease and sugar fixes. And when I say "grease", I mean both the ingestible and financial kinds of it.
moncurcool 5 months ago
So the PM has no faith in his own healthcare system? He goes out of county to another healthcare system for treatment?
That speaks volumes
John 5 months ago
So didn’t the PM’s medical team tell him that these nerve flare ups can be caused by excessive air travel. Too much caffeine ( sometimes just a can of Coke or a cup of coffee or certain alcoholic beverages? Not even excessive but they cause the flare up and once you refrain from those things flying, caffeine distilled alcohol ( vodka gin etc) the issue will wear off until you itrtitatr the nerve again. AND HEAR THIS : may sound strange but toting your wallet in your back pocket can also irritate the nerve that runs down your leg. Especially if the wallet is bulky and you sit on it for extended hours. That is why the pain is usually down the right leg and not the left, a Dr recommends putting your wallet in a side pocket when you will be sitting for an extended period, like when in a meeting or on a long flight or drive
John 5 months ago
And also spicy, pepper food can cause flare ups (
sheeprunner12 5 months ago
There will be no new Hospital ...... Pipe dreams.
Brave dem fighting hard to stay out of the clutches of DEA, FBI & Uncle Sam Feds.
Brave might be in Rwanda or Botswana right now ...... Working on some strong voodoo medicine.
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