Ulcer Will Keep Sutherland in German Hospital a Week More

Former hostage Thomas M. Sutherland was forced to postpone his homecoming Thursday when doctors discovered he has a stomach ulcer and recommended that he remain hospitalized for another week.

The setback forced Sutherland, 60, to miss a memorial service in Ames, Iowa, for his father-in-law, who died shortly before Sutherland’s release Monday from 6 1/2 years of captivity.

Sutherland’s wife, Jean, and two grown daughters, Kit and Joan, also stayed behind in Germany, where the Scottish-born professor has been undergoing medical tests and State Department debriefing at the U.S. Air Force hospital in Wiesbaden.

“He is being treated with a drug called an H-2 blocker and with antacids,” military spokesman Bill Swisher said in a telephone interview. “He is in stable condition and comfortable. Doctors say his prognosis is good, and they expect a full recovery.”

He said Sutherland had felt ill during his last six weeks of captivity but did not tell doctors until the symptoms worsened Thursday. “This condition is usually not found during a physical examination unless it’s specifically looked for,” said Dr. Uwe Fohlmeister, the Air Force doctor treating Sutherland.

Swisher said Jean Sutherland had described her husband as “a very driven person, and he was focusing on getting out and going home for the memorial service.”

Swisher said doctors want Sutherland to remain in the hospital for another five to seven days to continue medication.

He said Sutherland, ebullient during a two-hour press conference Wednesday, had slept only “an hour or two” each night since his release because of the excitement of being reunited with his family.