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Published on October 15, 2007

His Majesty the King is recuperating from an unusual weakness in the right side of the body, the Royal Household Bureau said yesterday.

His Majesty has gained more strength to his right upper forearm and the right side of his body while his blood pressure and respiratory system have returned to normal, said the statement, quoting his personal doctors at Siriraj Hospital where he is being treated.

The doctors are preparing a rehabilitation course for His Majesty. The course is expected to continue for an unknown period of time.

A large number of people in yellow shirts have surrounded the hospital to wait for good news about His Majesty's condition, with many of them staying on and returning to wait there since he was admitted on Saturday.

Hospital staff laid a long wooden platform along a sewage channel beside Chalerm Phrakiat Building, where His Majesty is staying on the 16th floor, to add extra space to accommodate more and more well-wishers.

Well-wishing messages can be signed at the Centennial Pavilion from 8am to 10pm. Along with members of the general public, many Cabinet members, career politicians and senior civilian and military officials signed their names in the books all day yesterday. A total of 8,873 people had signed messages as of last night.

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Pojaman assigned her stepbrother Bannapot Damapong to deliver messages to the King.

Her Majesty the Queen paid a visit to the King at 11.15am yesterday. She was warmly greeted and hailed by the crowds in the hospital. A large number gave a wai to her at her feet while she walked past them. Her Majesty waved back at the crowds and said thanks to them.

At 2pm, His Majesty graciously had a large number of bouquets and vases of flowers presented to him distributed to patients in the Chalerm Phrakiat Building.

Phra Ratchakhru Wam Thepmuni, the chief Brahmin priest with the Royal Household Bureau, said a Hindu prayer had been said to wish His Majesty a speedy recovery.

Free parking space is available in Sanam Luang grounds and nearby Thammasat University to those wishing to visit Siriraj Hospital. Free trams shuttle between both sites and Tha Prachan pier, where the crowds can travel to the hospital on the Thon Buri side across the Chao Phya River.

His Majesty was admitted to Siriraj Hospital on Saturday for treatment over mild symptoms of inadequate blood to the left side of the brain. Doctors later diagnosed that the outer part of His Majesty's left-side brain lacked enough blood supply.

The King later underwent a MRI test, which detected slightly inadequate blood flows in the left lobe of his brain. Doctors recommended His Majesty remain at the hospital for further observation.