Toronto set aside the politics of a heated mayoral race today to wish Rob Ford the best after he was admitted to hospital with a tumor in his abdomen. There are few details of Ford’s medical condition and the Ford family today asked the media to leave them in peace to deal with the mayor’s medical condition.
This afternoon Ford was moved to Mount Sinai Hospital in downtown Toronto for “follow-up investigation and subsequent treatment.” And this evening Dr. Zane Cohen says Ford’s diagnosis is in “a holding pattern” and the results from the biopsy will take a week to complete and be analyzed. Dr. Cohen said it is too early to know how long Ford will be in the hospital. A medical meeting on Friday will determine next steps for Ford.
The two other candidates, John Tory and Olivia Chow, did take part in a candidate meeting this morning but the tone was muted as the news of Ford’s hospitalization left everyone waiting for more information on Ford’s condition. While some wondered if the campaign should be put on hold, Chow told CP24 this morning the campaign should continue and said a debate scheduled for tomorrow should go ahead. Chow pointed out that there were mayoral candidate debates while Ford was in his drug rehabilitation program. But Chow was clear that her and all Torontonians’ thoughts are with the Ford family. Late Thursday Chow’s campaign released her schedule for Friday with events from 8 a.m. till after 11:00 p.m.
For the next hours and days the campaign will take a back seat to the wait for more on the diagnosis of Ford’s condition. Everyone is aware of Friday’s 2 p.m. deadline for nominations and withdrawals from the Toronto mayoral race. It was that deadline that ended the campaigns of David Soknacki and Sarah Thomson earlier this week. If the Ford campaign lets Rob Ford’s name stand, he will be on the ballot on October 27.
