Oskar Freysinger, former UDC politician and emblematic figure of Valais, underwent quintuple coronary bypass surgery on April 17 at Sion hospital. This operation, made necessary by persistent heart problems, lasted almost five hours.
“This time, the matter should be settled for at least twenty years, assures my cardiologist,” confides Oskar Freysinger to Blick.
This operation takes place sixteen years after the start of the heart problems. “My first stents were placed in 2008, at the age of 48. Then, “step by step”, I ended up having thirteen. Like the number of stars on the Valais flag and the number of Swiss Cups won by FC Sion,” laughs the 63-year-old former politician. An apparently insufficient number, since he again experienced breathing problems and chest pains on April 5, during a sealskin hike.
Still weakened and in semi-intensive care, the former politician only receives visits from his family. He finds comfort in a “fantastic” medical team and “caring” staff. “I should regain all the abilities of a guy my age in the long term,” but “recovery will take time,” he admits.
The former Valais UDC state councilor, retired from politics since the failure of his re-election as head of the Valais executive in 2017, is already delighted with the release of his two new novels, scheduled for May 17 next. One of them, “The Blind Ear,” tells the story of a deaf-mute and blind man who managed to travel the world despite his disabilities.
