Pope Francis' doctor, team leader at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, revealed in a new interview that the pope almost died on February 28th. «The worst night was February 28. He whispered: it's bad. Those who were next to him had tears in their eyes» Dr. Sergio Alfieri said in interview with the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera.
«It's bad». It's the afternoon of February 28. Pope Francis has been hospitalized at Gemelli for 14 days. Suddenly his condition worsens, he has a bronchospasm, air hunger. He asks for help.
"We had to choose whether to stop and let him go or force and try with all the drugs and therapies possible, running the very high risk of damaging other organs. And in the end we took this path".
"The Holy Father always decides. He delegated every type of healthcare decision to Massimiliano Strappetti, his personal healthcare assistant who knows the Pope's wishes perfectly".
Massimiliano said,"Try everything, we won't give up. That's what we all thought too. And no one gave up".
The day after the Pope's return to Santa Marta, Professor Sergio Alfieri is back at work at Gemelli. Coordinator of the medical team that treated the Pope, during these 38 days of hospitalization he has always been at his side, also taking care of communications between the inside and the outside. "A team effort with many of my colleagues, I want to say and emphasize this".
Pope Francis understood that he was dying: "Yes, also because he was always alert. Even when his condition worsened he was fully conscious. That evening was terrible, he knew, like us, that he might not survive the night. We saw the man who was suffering. However, from the first day he asked us to tell him the truth and he wanted us to tell the truth about his condition".
"We communicated the medical part to the secretaries and they added the other information that the Pope then approved, nothing was ever changed or omitted. He has people who are now like family, they are with him always".
"For days we risked damage to the kidneys and the marrow but we continued, then the body responded to the treatment and the lung infection eased".
"We had to choose whether to stop and let him go or force and try with all the drugs and therapies possible, running the very high risk of damaging other organs. And in the end we took this path".
"The Holy Father always decides. He delegated every type of healthcare decision to Massimiliano Strappetti, his personal healthcare assistant who knows the Pope's wishes perfectly".
Massimiliano said,"Try everything, we won't give up. That's what we all thought too. And no one gave up".
The day after the Pope's return to Santa Marta, Professor Sergio Alfieri is back at work at Gemelli. Coordinator of the medical team that treated the Pope, during these 38 days of hospitalization he has always been at his side, also taking care of communications between the inside and the outside. "A team effort with many of my colleagues, I want to say and emphasize this".
Pope Francis understood that he was dying: "Yes, also because he was always alert. Even when his condition worsened he was fully conscious. That evening was terrible, he knew, like us, that he might not survive the night. We saw the man who was suffering. However, from the first day he asked us to tell him the truth and he wanted us to tell the truth about his condition".
"We communicated the medical part to the secretaries and they added the other information that the Pope then approved, nothing was ever changed or omitted. He has people who are now like family, they are with him always".
"For days we risked damage to the kidneys and the marrow but we continued, then the body responded to the treatment and the lung infection eased".
There were two crises in hospital during which the pope almost lost his life according to the doctor.
Source: Il Corriere della Sera
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