Gloria Arroyo complaining of back and shoulder pains—lawyer

Former President and now Pampanga Representatives Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been complaining of back and shoulder pains lately, nearly a month after she choked on a broccoli stem.

 

Despite the discomfort she has been experiencing on her back and shoulders, Arroyo is in better shape now than four weeks ago, her spokesperson, Atty. Raul Lambino, said Wednesday. 

 

“[Mrs. Arroyo] is quite better than four weeks ago when she had the choking incident, but she complains of back and shoulder pains,” Lambino said in a text message to GMA News Online. He, however, did not elaborate on the cause of the aches.

 

Arroyo’s doctors at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) recently performed an endoscopy on her after she choked on broccoli. 

 

According to the doctors, Arroyo’s choking incident is considered dangerous since she coughed and had a hard time breathing.

 

Following the incident, the Pampanga legislator has been taught how to swallow food properly to prevent the possibility of her choking again.

 

Arroyo previously choked on melon and a “bacon-like” meat in 2012. These choking incidents were caused by a condition called esophagus stenosis or the narrowing of the lumen of the esophagus that impeded passage of food from the mouth to the stomach. 

 

Other discomforts that Arroyo had experienced were brought by difficulty swallowing and pain in the shin. 

 

The former President is under hospital arrest at the VMMC since October 2012 for allegedly conspiring to fraudulently divert P366 million in confidential Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office intelligence funds "for personal gain" from 2008 to 2010. —NB, GMA News