The Vatican has reported good news about Pope Francis’s health, saying the 88-year-old is no longer in immediate danger as he recovers from double pneumonia in a Rome hospital.......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
After more than three weeks at Gemelli Hospital since his February 14 admission, doctors have upgraded the Pope’s condition. The Vatican’s latest medical update indicates they’ve removed the “guarded” prognosis that had previously signalled his life was at risk.
“The improvements recorded in previous days have further consolidated, as confirmed by both blood tests and clinical assessments, as well as a good response to his drug treatments,” the Vatican stated.
Though this development is encouraging, Pope Francis isn’t heading home just yet. Doctors expect him “to continue medical drug treatment in a hospital setting for further days,” though no specific discharge date was mentioned.
Read Also: Pope sends appreciation with stable clinical condition as medical therapy continues
The Pope’s condition has been described as stable or improving for about a week, following two serious episodes of “acute respiratory insufficiency” on March 3. He’s currently receiving respiratory physiotherapy to help with his breathing and physical therapy for mobility issues.
Throughout his hospital stay, Pope Francis has needed oxygen support—using a small tube under his nose during the day and non-invasive ventilation while sleeping at night.
His current health challenges are complicated by previous medical issues. The Pope is more susceptible to lung infections because he had pleurisy as a young man and had part of one lung removed. Double pneumonia, which involves infection in both lungs, can cause inflammation and scarring that makes breathing difficult.
This hospital stay marks the longest public absence of Francis’s eleven-year papacy, which reaches its 12th anniversary this Thursday. Despite his illness, the Pope has continued working from his hospital room, meeting three times with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s second-in-command, and following the Vatican’s annual spiritual retreat via livestream as Easter preparations continue.
