Pope Francis came so close to death while in hospital with pneumonia that doctors had to choose whether “to let him go, or push forward”, the head of the pontiff’s medical team said.
Francis, 88, spent more than five weeks at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, where he was treated for pneumonia in both lungs, before being discharged on Sunday. He suffered four breathing crises during his stay in hospital, the most critical episode being on 28 February, when he inhaled his vomit.
“We were all aware that the situation had further worsened and there was a risk that he would not make it,” Sergio Alfieri, a general surgeon at Gemelli hospital, said in an interview with Corriere della Sera published on Tuesday.
“We had to choose whether to stop [treatment] and let him go, or push forward and try [to save him] with all the drugs and therapies possible, running the very high risk of damaging other organs. In the end, we took this path.”
It was the pope’s personal nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, who instructed the team to continue treatment, telling them: “Try everything, don’t give up,” Alfieri recalled.
The pontiff was fully aware that he might not make it through the night. “We saw a man who was suffering,” Alfieri told Corriere. “But from day one he wanted us to tell him the truth about his condition.”
During the episode, Alfieri said he “saw tears in the eyes of some of the people” around him. “People who, I understood, sincerely love him, like a father.”
The pope suffered subsequent respiratory attacks, including another critical one while he was eating, which again caused him to inhale his vomit, putting more pressure on his lungs. “In these cases, if not promptly helped, you risk sudden death,” said Alfieri. “It was terrible, really we thought he wouldn’t make it.”
The pope’s health started to improve and doctors declared on 10 March that he was no longer in imminent danger. As he started to feel better, the pontiff moved around the ward in his wheelchair and on one evening offered a pizza takeaway for all those who had assisted him.
At his own insistence, Francis returned home to Casa Santa Marta in Vatican City, where he must convalesce for at least two months as he continues treatment. Alfieri told reporters on Saturday that it would take time for the pope’s body to fully heal.
Meanwhile, it was announced that King Charles’ state visit to the Vatican has been postponed by mutual agreement after medical advice suggested the Pope would benefit from extra time to recuperate.
Charles and Camilla were due to visit Pope Francis in the Holy See in just under two weeks’ time. Their state visit to Italy will still continue, but there will be some changes to the programme.
