Rev. Falwell Released From the Hospital
The Rev. Jerry Falwell,the founder and chancellor of Liberty University, was released from the Lynchburg hospital Wednesday after suffering respiratory arrest on March 28.
The Associated Press reported that this was the second time this year that Falwell, 71-year old television evangelist, was hospitalized. The first time was in March 4 when he returned from the hospital after his stay of 13 days, spending part of the time on a ventilator due to a viral infection.
Doctors initially said Falwell suffered from congestive heart failure but have deferred to the Falwell family for medical updates.
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"The doctors couldn't give us a definitive answer, but they said it is not a chronic condition," said the reverend's son, Jonathan Falwell.
According to the younger Falwell, doctors told family members that leakage of fluid from his father's lungs likely led to a buildup of pressure on his heart, causing the respiratory failure.
He also said that doctors will be able to treat the condition with prescription drugs.
Doctors performed a heart catheterization on his father last week that showed blockage in one of his arteries had improved from a similar procedure performed five years ago.
"Essentially his heart is strong as an ox," Jonathan Falwell said.
Falwell founded the Moral Majority in 1979 and became the face of the religious right as his political lobbying organization grew to 7 million members and raised millions for conservative politicians.
