Lasso will travel to the U.S. in two weeks for spinal cord surgery

President Guillermo Lasso will undergo a spinal cord operation in the U.S. later this month. According to his office, he will fly to Cleveland, Ohio for the procedure on June 21.

President Guillermo Lasso

The surgery is the third attempt to repair damage caused by misplaced epidural anesthesia needle following a 2013 fall in Spain. In the accident, on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, Lasso fractured an ankle and injured his back. After the first operation, he underwent two more to repair damage to the spine, one in Madrid and the other in Cleveland.

Lasso has walked with a cane since the surgeries and undergoes more than an hour of physical therapy each day. “I am in good health except for the back pain but would like to regain my full health if possible,” he said Sunday. In addition to the physical therapy, he says he spends at least 30 minutes a day walking.

Lasso and Vice President Alfredo Borrero are scheduled to receive their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday at the Physical Education Complex at the University of Guayaquil.