For 38 days Pope Francis has battled a life-threatening case of pneumonia in both lungs.
For 38 days Pope Francis has battled a life-threatening case of pneumonia in both lungs.
Photo: AAP
Pope Francis will be released from the hospital on Sunday, after 38 days of battling a life-threatening case of pneumonia, but he will require further recovery time.
Gemelli medical director Dr Sergio Alfieri said Pope Francis will require at least two months of rest and rehabilitation as he continues recovering at the Vatican.
Francis was admitted to Gemelli hospital on February 14 after a bout of bronchitis worsened.
He later developed a life-threatening case of pneumonia.
Doctors provided their first in-person update on the pontiff’s condition in a month, in a sign that he has made good and steady progress.
The Saturday evening briefing was the first since February 21, a week after the 88-year-old Francis was brought to hospital.
He subsequently experienced several respiratory crises that landed him in critical condition, though he has since stabilised.
In another development, the Vatican announced that Francis would appear on Sunday morning to bless the faithful from his 10th-floor suite at the hospital.
While Francis released an audio message on March 6 and the Vatican distributed a photo of him March 16, Sunday’s blessing will be the first live appearance since February 14 for what has become the longest stint in hospital during his 12-year papacy.
The Argentine pope, who has chronic lung disease, is prone to respiratory problems in winter and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted after a bout of bronchitis worsened.
Doctors first diagnosed a complex bacterial, viral and fungal respiratory tract infection and soon thereafter, pneumonia in both lungs.
Blood tests showed signs of anaemia, low blood platelets and the onset of kidney failure, all of which later resolved after two blood transfusions.
The most serious setbacks began when Francis experienced an acute coughing fit and inhaled vomit, requiring him to use a non-invasive mechanical ventilation mask to help him breathe.
He suffered two more respiratory crises in the following days, which required doctors to manually aspirate the mucus, at which point he began sleeping with the ventilation mask at night to help his lungs clear the accumulation of fluids.
At no point did he lose consciousness, and doctors reported he was alert and cooperative.
Over the past two weeks, he has stabilised and registered slight improvements, the Vatican press office has reported.
He no longer needs to wear the ventilation mask at night and is cutting back his reliance on high flows of supplemental oxygen during the day.
—AAP