Please tell me this is a joke

Yesterday, when news started coming in that Sharon had moved his arm and leg, people around me began joking that this fighter is going to fully recover yet, in time for the next election -- and that his first word will probably be, 'shawarma.'
Ha ha.
Today I read in Ha'aretz that

Among the ways in which physicians hope to stimulate Sharon's senses Tuesday is to place a plate of shawarma, the sliced meat dish said to be the prime minister's favorite, close enough for him to smell it, Army Radio reported.

Smell it, eat it, and induce another stroke???