Today in History – 16 October

Atatürk enters his first serious coma

The first signs of Atatürk’s illness emerged in early 1938 and he was diagnosed with “stage one cirrhosis.” Maintaining his heavy schedule despite “absolute rest” orders of the doctors, Atatürk fell ill again and thus invited Prof. Dr. Fiessinger from France. The first official announcement on his health condition was made on March 30th .

However, the treatments were not working and Atatürk’s condition was worsening with each passing day. Despite doctor’s orders to rest, his journey to Mersin and Adana on May 20th-25th to resolve the Hatay crises had left him exhausted. By the time Atatürk returned to İstanbul, his illness had progressed considerably. By then, the Savarona had reached İstanbul and Atatürk was moved aboard the yacht with the hope that the sea air would do him well. Yet, a further decline in health forced Atatürk to be permanently moved to Dolmabahçe Palace on July 24th.

Atatürk’s condition rapidly worsened from then on. The water retained in his abdomen was drained by puncture on September 7th. The process was repeated on September 22nd. He was kept under constant observation and was not allowed out of bed unless it was absolutely necessary. Atatürk entered his first massive coma on the evening of October 16th and remained in intensive care until October 19th. His condition worsened increasingly in the ensuing days.