Pope Francis responding well to treatment but not out of woods yet, say papal doctors

ROME – Having spent three weeks in the hospital for treatment of double pneumonia, Pope Francis continues to be in stable condition and is responding well to his various treatments, as well breathing and mobility therapy.

A March 8 Vatican statement said, “the clinical conditions of the Holy Father in recent days have remained stable and, consequently, demonstrate a good response to therapy. Therefore, a gradual, slight improvement has been registered.”

The Pope continues to have no fever, an exchange of gases has improved, and his blood tests have remained stable.

However, despite these positive signs, doctors said they are waiting to see more days of improvement before providing an overall prognosis, which remains “guarded.”

The Vatican said that Pope Francis this morning received the Eucharist and spent some time in prayer inside of the chapel next to his private suite in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he has been admitted since February 14 for treatment of a complex respiratory infection and his double pneumonia.

In the afternoon, he alternated rest with some work activities.

Vatican sources said earlier Saturday that the pope had rested well during the night, continuing to receive high-flow oxygen through the nose during the day, while using a non-invasive mechanical ventilator, a mask tightly adhered over the nose and mouth, during the night.

He continues to undergo respiratory and mobility therapy during the day.

Pope Francis has spent three weeks in the hospital, and will quickly take second place for the longest papal hospitalization, following Pope John Paul II’s 55-day hospital stay in 1981.

John Paul II was rushed to the Gemelli Hospital, named for the early 20th century Franciscan priest and physician Father Agostino Gemelli, after he was shot May 13, 1981. He underwent a 6-hour surgery to remove the bullets that had lodged in his body and to repair the resulting damage.

He was released from the hospital and returned to the Vatican on June 3, 1981, marking a stay of 22 days, which Pope Francis will soon surpass.

John Paul II was taken back to Gemelli Hospital a few weeks later, however, when he ran a severe fever and was diagnosed with a common but serious infection and was made to undergo a second operation to close a temporary colostomy created after one of the bullets tore through his lower intestine.

That operation couldn’t be performed until the fever from the infection was under control, which took weeks to accomplish, meaning all in, John Paul’s second hospitalization in 1981 stretched from June 20 to August 14, lasting a total of 55 days.

Due to his inability to preside over major events and liturgies at the Vatican, Pope Francis this weekend tapped Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, as his delegate to lead events for the Jubilee of the World of Volunteering.

Czerny was also scheduled to lead a rosary for Pope Francis’s health and recovery in St Peter’s Square on Saturday evening, which is one of several daily initiatives, including prayers and Masses, being offered for him during his hospital stay.

On Thursday the pope provided his first audio message since he was hospitalized, thanking the world, and especially those gathered for the rosary in St Peter’s Square, for their prayers.

The post Pope Francis responding well to treatment but not out of woods yet, say papal doctors first appeared on Catholic Herald.

The post Pope Francis responding well to treatment but not out of woods yet, say papal doctors appeared first on Catholic Herald.