Vatican City, 24 Apr (Reuters)-The quick morning of Monday, the victim of an unexpected stroke, without excessive pain, and there was nothing that doctors could have done to save their lives, the pontiff’s head of the Pontiff said in interviews published on Thursday.
Sergio Alfieri, a doctor at Gemelli Hospital in Rome, supervised the Pope’s treatment during a five -week hospitalization, while Francisco was fighting double pneumonia earlier this year.
Alfieri said he received a call around 5:30 am on Monday morning to quickly go to the Vatican and arrived about 20 minutes later.
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“I entered his room and he (Francisco) had his eyes open,” the doctor told Corriere della Sera. “I confirmed that there were no breathing problems. I tried to call him by name, but he didn’t answer me.”
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“At that moment, I knew there was nothing more to do,” said Alfieri. “He was in a coma.”
In a separate interview with La Repubblica, Alfieri said some authorities who were present with the Pope suggested transferred him back to the hospital.
“He would have died on the way,” said the doctor. “Making a tomography, we would have an exact diagnosis, but nothing more. It was one of those spills that, in an hour, take you away.”
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Francisco was 88 years old and almost died fighting pneumonia, but his death was a shock. The day before, he appeared in St. Peter’s Square in an open -air papamobile to greet the crowd at a party on Easter Sunday, suggesting that his convalescence was doing well.
Papa continued to work
Following Francisco’s return to the Vatican on March 23, after a 38-day hospitalization, Alfieri and the Pope’s other doctors prescribed a two-month rest period to allow his body to recover.
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Francisco, known for working hard, continued to work. He found himself briefly with US Vice President Jd Vance on Easter Sunday and visited a prison in Rome on April 17, Holy Thursday, to wish the detainees.
Alfieri said the Pope listened to the doctors’ advice and did not strive too much. “He (was) the Pope,” the doctor told Corriere. “Back to work was part of his treatment and he was never exposed to dangers.”
The doctor said he last saw Francisco on Saturday afternoon. “He was doing very well,” said Alfieri, who said he presented the Pope with a pie, of a flavor he knew the pontiff liked.
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He said the Pope said, “I’m fine, I started working again and I’m enjoying it.”
“We knew he wanted to go home and be a Pope until the last moment,” said the doctor. “He didn’t disappoint us.”
