ROME – Pope Francis’s latest medical bulletin said that while he still requires further hospitalization, his overall clinical status is improving and doctors are attempting to gradually wean him from nighttime ventilation.
A March 15 Vatican statement said, “The clinical conditions of the Holy Father have remained stable, confirming the progress shown in the past week.”
Francis, it said, continues to receive high-flow oxygen therapy through nasal cannulas during the day, with his medical team “progressively reducing the need for non-invasive mechanical ventilation during the night hours.”
He was placed on regular oxygen therapy after a Feb. 22 respiratory crisis, and was required to begin non-invasive mechanical ventilation after experiencing several bronchospasms, or a tightening and restriction of the bronchi, the tubes connecting the lungs to the windpipe, requiring suctioning of vomit and mucus.
While he continues to make progress toward recovery, the Vatican said the pope “still requires hospital medical therapy, motor and respiratory therapy,” and that his consistent practice of these therapies over the past week are currently showing “further, gradual improvements.”
Pope Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital Feb. 14 for treatment of bronchitis and was later diagnosed with a complex respiratory infection and double pneumonia.
His hospital stay, which marks the longest hospitalization of his papacy, coincided with the 12th anniversary of his election on March 13, 2013, which he celebrated with hospital staff, who surprised him with a cake with 12 candles.
Francis has continued to work during his hospitalization, signing off on routine appointments and publishing documents, and even forming a new commission to increase donations to the Catholic Church, and the Vatican, as he continues his attempt to chip away the Holy See’s annual deficit.
He has alternated his days with work, rest, and prayer, taking a brief pause from his work activities this past week to join, via video connection, in the March 9-14 spiritual exercises of the Roman Curia, which are led by the new Preacher for the Papal Household, Capuchin friar and biblical scholar Father Roberto Pasolini.
Doctors said Pope Francis is no longer at immediate risk of death, but they have not yet given an indication as to when he might be discharged.
Given his ongoing stability and improvement, his medical team is providing fewer updates, as much of the information remains the same from day to day as his slow recovery continues.
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