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Cross-Examination of Dr. Lewis

MS BATOHI: Would a person in Mr Cronje's condition, as you have described it, be in a position to play cricket for example or soccer?

DR LEWIS: I think it is remarkable how many people with depression continue their daily lives, and for example we know stories often of people who seem to be perfectly well, right up to the day that they kill themselves, and it was clear in retrospect that those sorts of people would have been suffering from depression. Mr Cronje certainly would have been able to play cricket.

MS BATOHI: Or even perhaps golf at Fancourt during this period?

DR LEWIS: Certainly. If I can just add that in fact the symptoms of depression are not always present all of the time, but are present more days than not, and for most of the day. So for example it is not uncommon to see somebody who is depressed still tell a joke and laugh for example.

MS BATOHI: Would a person in that condition, be able to study for exams perhaps?

DR LEWIS: I think they would be able to study for exams and I think a number of people do, but I think that they are severely disadvantaged in that their concentration is affected, their thinking is affected and their memory is affected, and in addition to that, they tend to have fatigue and a sense of whether this is all worth it or not.

MS BATOHI: Would they in fact be able to go through with writing an examination, bearing in mind that it requires your memory functions to be at its peak, I would think?

DR LEWIS: Certainly, I think that a number of people can pass examinations even when they are not at their peak, in other words, I think that it is unlikely that somebody would perform as well as they could do in an examination situation, but at the same time, they would perform adequately.

I suppose that is the situation in which Mr Cronje is, is that certainly he would perform adequately here, but I don't think he would perform as he might otherwise were he not to have depression.

MS BATOHI: Do you think that the fact that Mr Cronje has been granted conditional indemnity from prosecution, might have in fact relieved his stress because that threat of prosecution is not there, provided that he tells the truth?

DR LEWIS: Well, I certainly think at one level, it would have relieved some stress. I think though at another level is, he is still required to perform and finds himself in a frustrating situation where at times he genuinely cannot remember things, even though they are not so important.

MS BATOHI: Doctor, just on that point, how do you know that he genuinely can't remember things? How do you come to that conclusion, that is my concern really, the bottom line, how do you know that he genuinely can't remember things, that is is just something that he is making up to suit him?

DR LEWIS: Well, the irony is that in my experience, rather than making up things, he tends to do the opposite, he tends to acknowledge that he cannot remember, things which are quite simple.

So for example, what clothes he might be wearing on a particular day, he is unable to remember that, whereas he feels some pressure to provide answers, so if he weren't so honest, I think, would make statements like "I was wearing a tracksuit pants".

MS BATOHI: Do you think perhaps Mr Cronje could manipulate and use his condition as an excuse when it comes to answering difficult uestions?

DR LEWIS: Well, I think that is a possibility, I think that anybody could manipulate any medical condition, but I think that that doesn't detract from the fact that he genuinely has a medical condition and that it genuinely interferes with his ability to give evidence.

MS BATOHI: Thank you, I have no further questions.

NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MS BATOHI

COMMISSIONER: Mr Wallace, perhaps I should put a few questions first efore you reply, if that is convenient?

Dr Lewis, what is the prognosis with particular reference to duration, how do you see it?

DR LEWIS: Well, depressions particularly begin to show a degree of improvement after three to four weeks, and then within three to four months are usually fully treated.

We do know that there is a risk of recurrence of depression, but an important factor is whether an existing stress remains or has been removed. For example, if one were in difficult circumstances, that might prolong the depression.

COMMISSIONER: Mr Cronje presumably has been under stress and depression ever since this whole business began to unfold, which would have been early-ish in April, so we are now two and a half months, a little bit more, down the line, so to speak. In that context and having regard to the fact that he is taking medication in the form of anti-depressants, can you venture an assessment as to how much longer his condition is likely to maintain?

DR LEWIS: I should have made it clear that when I was talking about recovery from depression, that is recovery on adequate treatment, the correct anti-depressant, the correct dose, and so he has been on an adequate anti-depressant for the last month. I would predict that from now the symptoms should begin to improve, but again I think that until the Commission and other hearings of this sort are over, I don't think that he will fully recover from his depression.

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