Doctors keen to get Lange up and walking

The former prime minister, pictured at an Indian community ceremony in Auckland this month, is uncomfortable but mentally alert. Picture / Greg Bowker

David Lange is in a stable but "uncomfortable" condition as he begins his second week in Middlemore Hospital.

His wife, Margaret Pope, says, however, that the 62-year-old former Labour prime minister is more alert than in previous days.

"He's [mentally] very much himself, there's no doubt about that," said Ms Pope from Middlemore. "But he's unwell and quite uncomfortable and I think he'd rather be out of hospital. But, you know, it's quite hard to say more than that."

Mr Lange had "enormous willpower and he's so determined ... It's sheer determination that keeps him going".

Prime Minister Helen Clark told Newstalk ZB host Leighton Smith yesterday that this was "a very critical time" for Mr Lange.

His brother, artist Peter Lange, said that although Mr Lange's body was "breaking down - it has been for some years" - he was mentally "quite bright" when the pair met yesterday. "He is at 90 of the usual 100 per cent. I was quite impressed. He's a resilient character."

Doctors yesterday encouraged Mr Lange, long renowned for his wit, to walk. "They are trying to get him out of bed for a few brief steps and that was a bit tough - he was under some sedation," said Peter Lange.

In 2002, Mr Lange was diagnosed with amyloidosis, a rare and incurable plasma disorder that can be fatal. It can affect organs such as the heart and kidneys. Treatment has included chemotherapy, blood transfusions, and, more recently, dialysis. He has had various heart and retina operations.

Among other visitors yesterday was Christchurch-based friend and entertainer Gary McCormick, with whom he has travelled the country on speaking tours.

"Today he was fine and cracking jokes - it was a relief."

AGENT FOR CHANGE

* David Lange led a Labour Government from 1984 until his resignation in 1989 which radically changed social, political and economic life in New Zealand, with a flood of free-market reforms and the introduction of the country's ban on nuclear-powered ships.

* He created world headlines when he debated nuclear weapons with American evangelist Jerry Falwell at Britain's Oxford Union, telling an interjector: "Hold your breath just for a moment. I can smell the uranium on it."

* But on receiving in 2003 the country's highest royal honour, membership of the Order of NZ, which is limited to 20 living people, Mr Lange said people would come to regard his term as "fleeting, transient ... On the wallpaper of history I'm a flyspeck".