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Jolie Rouge
02-24-2005, 07:30 AM
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope John Paul II was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance Thursday suffering from a relapse of the flu, a fever and congestion, the Vatican said, a day after the pontiff made his longest public appearance since being discharged from the clinic two weeks ago.

The 84-year-old pontiff had the same symptoms of the breathing crisis that sent him to Gemelli Polyclinic on Feb. 1, a Vatican official said on condition of anonymity.

Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the pope was taken to the Rome hospital for "necessary specialized assistance and further tests." He was taken by ambulance at 10:45 a.m., officials said.

Vatican officials played down the seriousness of the hospitalization, saying a patient of the pope's age is always at risk from the flu. The pope also has Parkinson's disease and crippling knee and hip ailments.

But aides said on condition of anonymity that the pope had a fever, congestion and had suffered a relapse of breathing problems.

The Italian news agency ANSA reported that the pope arrived conscious at Gemelli in a private ambulance. He was taken inside in a stretcher, the report said, and quoted people who saw him enter the hospital as saying his face looked "quite relaxed." The news agency said he did not need a tube inserted into his windpipe to assist breathing.

A medical health bulletin was to be issued Friday morning, and no details on the pope's health were expected to be released before that, the Vatican said. Thursday's hospitalization was the pope's eighth since his election in 1978.

The pope's breathing problems can complicate the swallowing difficulties characteristic of Parkinson's disease. The lack of coordination of the muscles involved make it easy for food or saliva to get into the lungs. That can cause a life-threatening pneumonia and is one of the most common causes of death among Parkinson's patients.

Doctors sometimes bypass the throat by inserting a feeding tube directly into the stomach, both to help patients who have difficulty eating and to help prevent food going down to the lungs.

The muscle problems and the pope's stooped posture also could make it difficult for him to head off infections by mustering a powerful enough cough to shake mucus out of the lungs.

Rome has been particularly cold, wet and windy in recent days. The pope has twice appeared at his open studio window to address crowds in St. Peter's Square since his Feb. 10 discharge from the hospital, where he had been treated for breathing difficulties following a bout with the flu.

But the pope failed to show up Thursday morning for a scheduled meeting on new candidates for sainthood. No explanation was given for his absence and the ceremony went ahead, presided by the Vatican's No. 2 official, Cardinal Angelo Sodano.

The Vatican released a letter the pope had sent for the canonization ceremony, saying that "for reasons of caution," he had been advised to follow it from his apartment by closed-circuit television — an indication that the decision to take him to the hospital was made suddenly.

The pope had been convalescing after his hospitalization but had appeared to be making a rebound. At each new public appearance, he appeared stronger, more alert, and his voice was clearer.

On Wednesday, the pope wheezed and looked gaunt but managed to make his longest public appearance since leaving the hospital.

The Vatican originally had planned for the frail pontiff to address pilgrims in St. Peter's Square from his apartment window but decided instead on a video hookup because of the rain and winds.

In all, the pope followed the audience for 30 minutes — the most he has appeared in public since returning from the hospital. Fully alert, he waved and gave his blessing at the end.

When John Paul was discharged from the hospital, the Vatican made clear he would decide on his schedule in consultation with his doctors.

Because of his ailments, there has long been speculation that John Paul might consider resigning. That debate was fueled during his earlier hospitalization when Cardinal Sodano declined to rule out that possibility, saying it was up to the pope's "conscience."

The Gemelli Polyclinic has taken in John Paul so often that it has been dubbed by the Italian press as "The Third Vatican," after the seat of the Holy See on St. Peter's Square and the pope's summer residence in the town of Castel Gandolfo.

The hospital has a suite on the 10th floor that includes a chapel, kitchen and sleeping quarters for his longtime aide.

In 1981, the pope was shot in the abdomen and hand in a shooting attack by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca in St. Peter's Square. He spent 20 days at Gemelli after undergoing surgery.

The Gemelli clinic was under tight security Thursday.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-02-24-pope_x.htm?csp=24&RM_Exclude=Juno

2/24/05


The Pope's health troubles

Dates of injuries, illnesses and hospital stays of Pope John Paul II:

Feb. 24, 2005: Pope hospitalized at Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic hospital after suffering relapse of flu.

Feb. 10, 2005: Pope discharged from hospital.

Feb. 1, 2005: Pope rushed to hospital with breathing difficulties and inflamed throat while battling the flu.

Jan. 31, 2005: Vatican announces pope has "mild" case of flu, forcing cancellation of appearances.

Sept. 24, 2003: Pope skips weekly general audience due to an intestinal problem.

June 15, 1999: Flu, with slight fever, keeps pope from celebrating Mass in Krakow, Poland, for 1 million people during pilgrimage.

February 1997: Pope cancels general audience because of flu with fever.

Oct. 8, 1996: Pope hospitalized for operation to remove an inflamed appendix.

Aug. 15, 1996: Pope cancels general audience because of what Vatican calls an intestinal ailment accompanied by fever.

March 13, 1996: Pope cancels Mass after Vatican says he is stricken by a similar ailment.

Dec. 25, 1995: Overcome by fever and nausea, Pope interrupts Christmas message in St. Peter's Square and is bedridden with flu.

Jolie Rouge
02-24-2005, 04:13 PM
Pope May Be Battling Illness Complication
By MALCOLM RITTER

NEW YORK (AP) - Pope John Paul II may have returned to the hospital to battle an infection that arose as a complication of his prior case of flu or flu-like illness, American doctors speculated Thursday.

The Vatican has not released details about the pope's condition, but experts said people don't get a relapse of influenza itself. Rather, flu can lead to a bacterial infection such as pneumonia or bronchitis, which is an inflammation of the tubes that carry air into the lungs.

It's also possible that the pope's initial illness earlier this month was not literally influenza but a flu-like infection, said Dr. William Hall, a geriatrics specialist at the University of Rochester. Infection with respiratory syncytial (pronounced ``sin-SISH-ull'') virus can produce a more prolonged flu-like illness in elderly people, he said.


The Vatican has referred to the 84-year-old pope's illnesses as a ``syndrome of influenza.'' Experts noted that a variety of diseases are commonly called the flu even when not caused by an influenza virus.


Hall and Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University influenza expert, both speculated that the pope may be suffering from congestive heart failure, a treatable condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. That can appear after a case of the flu, Hall said.


It's also possible that the pope has caught a cold or genuine influenza if he didn't have it before or if he encountered a different strain of influenza virus, said Dr. Martin J. Blaser, chair of the department of medicine at the New York University School of Medicine. But the pope's age, slumped posture and Parkinson's disease would raise his risk of getting pneumonia as a complication of an infection, said Blaser, president-elect of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.


Experts say the Parkinson's and slumped posture would make it harder for the pope to keep pneumonia bacteria out of his lungs, in part by impairing his ability to cough. ``Pneumonia in an elderly, debilitated man is a serious issue,'' Blaser said. While pneumonia can be life-threatening, experts note it can be treated successfully with antibiotics, especially if diagnosed early.


A new round of illness after flu in an elderly person is ``not a good sign,'' Hall said, because ``each of these episodes takes its toll and it weakens many parts of the body,'' making it more susceptible to further problems. Schaffner agreed that the pope's reported symptoms are ``noteworthy and serious.''


But Hall noted the pope is getting top-notch medical care. ``There's a reasonable chance of pulling through this,'' Hall said. ``We would hope and have every expectation that with appropriate care he can weather this .. and can recover from it,'' Schaffner said.



02/24/05 12:44


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Vatican: Pope Recovering After Surgery

Pope John Paul II had a successful operation to help him breathe more easily following a recurrence of acute respiratory problems.

ROME (Reuters) - Pope John Paul has had a successful operation to help him breathe more easily following a recurrence of acute respiratory problems, the Vatican said in a statement on Thursday. "The operation ... ended successfully. The immediate post-operative progress is regular," the statement said.

It said surgeons at Rome's Gemelli hospital had performed a tracheotomy on the Pontiff, cutting a small opening into his neck and windpipe to allow air to flow directly into the lungs.

The operation lasted 30 minutes, starting at 8:20 p.m. (1920 GMT) and ending at 8:50 pm The Pope, who gave his consent for the operation, will spend the night in his hospital room, the statement added, implying he did not need to be treated in an intensive care ward.


The 84-year-old Pope was rushed to hospital earlier on Thursday for the second time this month after suffering renewed breathing problems and a relapse of the flu. Medical experts said the tracheotomy was a simple operation but added that it would only be performed in a crisis. They added that the Pope, who also suffers from Parkinson's disease, would now have even greater difficulty speaking.



02/24/05 16:15

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Jolie Rouge
03-22-2005, 11:10 AM
Pope to skip Good Friday, health precarious
Vatican sources say pontiff's recovery from surgery going slow
Updated: 12:47 p.m. ET March 22, 2005

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul's recovery from throat surgery is going slower than hoped for, raising even more doubts over if and when he can resume normal activities, Vatican sources said on Tuesday. "Unfortunately, things are not going as well as we would have hoped," a Vatican monsignor told Reuters. "These are the ups and downs of post-operative convalescence for a man of his age and condition."

"It is clear the Pope is suffering a lot," said another cleric who works in the Vatican.

Vatican sources said the 84-year-old Pope, who was last seen in public on Sunday, would have to miss this week's Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession at the Colosseum on Good Friday, the day Christians commemorate Christ's passion and death.

The Pope, who also suffers from Parkinson's Disease, had hoped to be able to attend the ritual. It was the only event during Holy Week, which ends next Sunday, that the Pope had not previously delegated to cardinals.

The procession will instead be presided over by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's vicar for Rome. The Pontiff will watch on television and if his health permits, he will join the ceremony via a video link at the start or the end.

The Pope's audiences, including Wednesday general audiences, have effectively been suspended until further notice. Rome was awash with rumors on Monday night that the Pope had suffered a serious setback earlier in the day and several Italian newspapers on Tuesday reported he had a brief breathing crisis.

Condition worsening?

One newspaper, Rome's Il Messaggero, quoted an unnamed Polish priest as having been told by the Pope's secretary: "Pray for the Pope because his condition is worsening."

He still has a tube, known as a cannula, in this throat to help him breath and medical experts have said he will most likely have to keep it there for the rest of his life. Medical staff have to keep the tube clean and clear of secretions in order to avert breathing problems and minimize the risk of infection.

It is not clear when the Pope will be able to resume his regular activities. His only scheduled international trip, to a World Youth Day event in Germany in August, is highly doubtful, sources said.

The Pope left Rome's Gemelli hospital on March 13, nearly three weeks after he underwent a tracheotomy to relieve severe breathing problems. Since his release from hospital, the Pope has made three brief appearances, two from his window overlooking St Peter's Square and one on a video link from his apartments.

Last Sunday, during a two-minute appearance from his window, the leader of the world's some 1.1 billion Roman Catholics looked uncomfortable, gaunt and in pain. The man once known as "The Great Communicator" remained silent. He banged a glass lectern with his hand in what appeared to be a sign of frustration and was wheeled away.

The absence during Holy Week of the Pope, now in the 27th year of his papacy, has hung heavy in the air.

Holy Week is the busiest and most important period in the Church's liturgical calendar.

The Pope has even delegated the Easter Sunday mass to a cardinal but is expected to deliver his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) blessing.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7263878

schsa
03-22-2005, 11:56 AM
I don't think that he will be with us much longer. It wouldn't surprise me if the Cardinals are already considering a successor.

Jolie Rouge
03-22-2005, 09:42 PM
Report: Pope not doing well on medication

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope John Paul II is vomiting, suffering strong headaches and not responding well to his medications, an Italian news agency reported Tuesday, but the pontiff's chief doctor dismissed speculation the pope will be hospitalized again.
The Apcom news agency, quoting unnamed sources, also reported that John Paul was suffering from overall weakness as he recovered from surgery to ease a breathing crisis.

But the head of the pope's medical team, Dr. Rodolfo Proietti, ruled out media speculation that the pope's health had deteriorated suddenly and might require a return to the hospital he was discharged from 10 days ago.

"No hospitalization of John Paul II is planned," the ANSA news agency quoted Proietti as saying.

The Vatican confirmed Tuesday that John Paul will not hold his traditional audience Wednesday, although it was not known if he would greet pilgrims from his apartment window — a decision the pope would make at the last minute.

John Paul has scaled back his appearances since his back-to-back hospitalizations and has designated cardinals to take his place during this week's busy Holy Week ceremonies. The Vatican only has confirmed one appointment for the pontiff — an Easter Sunday blessing.

The pope did not name a stand-in, however, for a Way of the Cross procession at the Colosseum on Good Friday evening, raising the possibility he would participate in some fashion, although it appeared doubtful he would go to the site.

Vatican Television officials said they had installed cables and other equipment in the pope's apartment above St. Peter's Square for the possible transmission of a video to be seen by the pilgrims gathered at the Colosseum.

The pope has made three public appearances since being discharged from the hospital — his latest on Palm Sunday when he blessed the crowd silently from his third-floor window. During that appearance, the pontiff pressed his hand to his head and pounded a lectern in apparent frustration over his difficulty in responding to the crowd.

It was the first time in 26 years as pope that he was unable to preside over the Mass ushering in Holy Week, the most important season on the Christian calendar and long one of his favorite appointments.

While his physical condition is "fragile," John Paul is "perfectly sound mentally," Cardinal Camillo Ruini, who stood in for the pope on Palm Sunday, said in an interview with the Italian religious affairs weekly magazine Famiglia Cristiana. Ruini said the pope "continues to carry out the acts of government and to assume the major decisions, as he has always done."

The 84-year-old pope has been convalescing at the Vatican following Feb. 24 throat surgery to insert a tube in his windpipe and ease his second breathing crisis in less than a month. He also suffers from Parkinson's disease, which affects muscle control and makes it difficult for him to speak clearly.

The pope's gaunt appearance the few times he has been seen has led to speculation in the Italian media that his condition has suffered a sharp setback. Vatican officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have denied there has been any sudden crisis but acknowledged the convalescence may be behind schedule.

No details on his state of health have been released since the pope's return to the Vatican on March 13.

The Vatican, however, says the pope is carrying out his major duties. On Tuesday, it reported the pope had named new bishops in the Ivory Coast and Spain. Under church law, only a pope can nominate bishops.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2005-03-22-pope_x.htm?csp=24&RM_Exclude=Juno

Jolie Rouge
03-27-2005, 09:29 PM
Pope makes Easter appearance
But ailing pontiff unable to speak, withdraws
The Associated Press
Updated: 8:49 p.m. ET March 27, 2005

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II blessed tens of thousands of pilgrims and tourists who packed St. Peter’s Square for Easter Sunday by making the sign of the cross with his hand, but he was unable to speak.

Aides had readied a microphone, and the pope appeared to be trying to utter a few words from his studio window. After making a few sounds, he eventually just made signs of the cross and the microphone was taken away. John Paul coughed briefly when he first appeared, but remained at the window for 12 minutes and looked stronger than he has in recent appearances.

Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who presided over Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square, read the pope’s message as the pontiff followed the text from his studio. Many in the crowd cried, others applauded when the pope appeared.

A physician from Nice, France, Milou Drici, said that “as a doctor, I felt for him. It is an ordeal for him and you could see his frustration. You have to admire his strength and fortitude. The faith of the people, as you saw today, helps him overcome his difficulties.”

Pope misses Holy Week events

For the first time since his papacy began in 1978, Easter Sunday Mass at the Vatican began without the pope as he continues his convalescence following two recent hospitalizations for breathing crises.

With this latest absence, John Paul missed participating in all major Holy Week events, a strong indication of his weakened condition. The last time the pope spoke publicly was March 13, shortly before he was discharged from the hospital.

On Feb. 24, surgeons inserted a tube in John Paul’s throat to help him breathe, and since then, the pontiff has uttered only a few words in public. In his Easter message read by Sodano, John Paul said people were hungering for “truth, freedom, justice and peace.”

John Paul also asked God to “give also to us the strength to show generous solidarity toward the multitudes who are even today suffering and dying from poverty and hunger, decimated by fatal epidemics or devastated by immense natural disasters.”

A prayer was said during the Mass asking “life and new energies” for the ailing pontiff and the entire Catholic Church.

TV hookups broadcast the service to 74 countries.

Sunday morning began chilly, with a light drizzle. Later the sun timidly broke through the clouds. “It would have been better with the pope,” said Sheri Zimpelman, who was in the crowd at the Sunday service with her husband, a U.S. serviceman stationed in Aviano, northern Italy.

Her husband, Thomas Zimpelman, said: “If he’s sick, he should do what’s best for him. His presence is enough.”

'It pains him'

John Paul also skipped the Easter vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday night, to give him more time to rest up for Sunday’s blessing. German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a close papal aide, celebrated the service, and read a papal message in which John Paul assured the crowd that he was watching the Mass on television in his Vatican apartment.

On Friday night, John Paul appeared, via a video hookup, to faithful at the Way of the Cross procession at the Colosseum. John Paul was seen, always with the camera at his back, as he sat in his private chapel and watched the procession on television.

The pontiff traditionally has used the Easter Sunday message to reflect on war, poverty and terrorism. He also developed a tradition of delivering holiday greetings in dozens of languages. “It pains him to be on the sidelines,” the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano wrote Saturday.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7263878

nightrider127
03-28-2005, 05:35 AM
I don't think the Pope will be around a whole lot longer. I feel that the trache they did on him is an effort to keep him off a respirator.

He is a good, good man and will be sorely missed by millions when his soul takes flight.

Jolie Rouge
03-29-2005, 02:57 PM
Pope Could Get Feeding Tube
Doctors Consider New Operation for Pope

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Doctors are considering performing a new operation on Pope John Paul to insert a feeding tube directly into his stomach, Corriere della Sera Web Site said on Tuesday, quoting a report by an Italian news agency.

The report said a final decision had not yet been taken but that the doctors thought the tube, known as a PEG, might be needed because the Pope was having problems swallowing. Such an operation would involve doctors placing a tube into the interior of the stomach through which food would be directly inserted, bypassing the mouth and throat.

The report by the Apcom Italian agency cited "an authorative source." The report did not say if the source was from the medical or Church community. Vatican spokesmen were not immediately available for comment.


Earlier on Tuesday, Corriere della Sera newspaper said the 84-year-old Pope would probably have to return to hospital in the coming days for medical checks amid fears that his health was worse than the Vatican was admitting.


John Paul has spent two spells in hospital in the past two months following breathing crises. He underwent a tracheotomy on Feb. 24 to help air flow more freely into his lungs and still has a tube inserted in his windpipe to aide his breathing. The Pope, who also has Parkinson's disease and suffers from severe arthritis, has not spoken in public since March 13, shortly before he was discharged from hospital. A Parkinson's expert told Reuters that PEGs were relatively common for long-time sufferers of the dehabilitating disease.


The Pope's poor health cast a long shadow over Holy Week celebrations. He failed in his efforts to speak on Easter Sunday and skipped a traditional blessing on Easter Monday for the first time in his papacy, now in its 27th year. "His condition is perhaps less encouraging than the (Vatican) would like to let on," Corriere wrote on Tuesday. "Indeed, another persistent fact is circulating. The Pope in the coming days should be taken back to the Gemelli."



03/29/05 15:35

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Jolie Rouge
03-30-2005, 02:35 PM
Pope getting nutrition from feeding tube
Vatican says pontiff's convalescence 'slow and progressive'
The Associated Press
Updated: 4:50 p.m. ET March 30, 2005

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II is getting nutrition from a tube in his nose, the Vatican said Wednesday, shortly after the frail pontiff appeared at his window in St. Peter’s Square and managed only a rasp when he tried to speak.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the step was taken to “improve the pope’s calorie intake” and so he can recover his strength. It was unclear when the tube was inserted but it was not visible when John Paul made his appearance.

The tube is not the only source of nutrition for the pope, a Vatican official said on condition of anonymity.

Asked about reports of a possible hospitalization, the official said there were no plans at this time and any decision would be up to his doctors.

The medical report was the first issued on the pope since March 10 — three days before he was discharged from the hospital for the second time in a month.

No sedation, surgery

The statement appeared indirectly to deny media reports that the 84-year-old pope might be hospitalized again to insert a feeding tube in his stomach because of problems swallowing food.

Feeding tubes are common in patients requiring supplemental nutrition. A “nasogastric tube,” which John Paul has, is threaded down the nose and throat into the stomach. Liquid food is then fed through it. While the procedure is uncomfortable, no sedation or surgery is required.

Dr. Barbara Paris, director of geriatrics at Maimonides Medical Center in New York, said the tube may be just a temporary measure to boost John Paul’s nutrition while he continues his recovery. But she said it could also be the first step toward having a more permanent feeding tube inserted directly into his stomach.

That procedure, known as PEG — percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy — involves making an incision in the abdomen so a tube can be passed directly into the stomach.

The nasogastric tube is less invasive and a simpler solution, Paris said.

Francesco Pierconti, a pathologist at Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome who did not treat John Paul, said feeding tubes like the one used by the pope usually need to stay in place for “two or three days, then they get removed for disinfection.”

Vatican says pope still at work

The statement Wednesday said John Paul spends “many hours” seated in an armchair, celebrates Mass in his private chapel and has work contacts with his aides “following directly the activities of the Holy See and the life of the church.”

It said the pope continues “his slow and progressive convalescence” and that public audiences remain suspended.

It also said medical assistance is guaranteed by the Vatican medical staff under the direction of the pope’s personal physician, Dr. Renato Buzzonetti, an apparent reference to reports that outside medical help has been called in.

The pope was rushed to Gemelli twice last month with breathing crises. On Feb. 24, he underwent throat surgery to insert a tube in his windpipe and ease his breathing.

Navarro-Valls made the announcement shortly after the pope appeared at his studio window and blessed thousands of faithful in St. Peter’s Square. The ailing pontiff raised his hand in blessing and made the sign of the cross as a Vatican official read greetings and prayers.

The pope looked alert during the appearance, his first since Easter Sunday. A microphone that had been readied by papal aides was quickly removed after the pontiff unsuccessfully tried to say a few words.

The appearance drew cheers from thousands of pilgrims gathered in the square beneath the pope’s third-floor window, decorated with the pope’s crimson banner. Some of the faithful had tears in their eyes.

Kate Strauss, an American tourist in St. Peter’s Square with her family, said, “We happened to be here by chance and we just had no idea we’d get a blessing from him and a blessing for the babies.”

“He looks very frail but certainly very committed to seeing his people,” she said.

The pontiff was unable to preside at Holy Week events because of his ailments. On Easter Sunday, he tried but failed to speak to tens of thousands of people gathered for Mass in the square.

John Paul last spoke to the public on March 13, shortly before being discharged from hospital. In addition to the breathing tube, John Paul suffers from Parkinson’s disease, which makes it difficult for him to talk, and knee and hip ailments.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7263878

Jolie Rouge
03-31-2005, 08:25 PM
3/31/2005

Pope has high fever from a urinary tract infection

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope John Paul II developed a high fever Thursday because of a urinary tract infection and was being treated with antibiotics at the Vatican, his spokesman said. The latest health setback for the 84-year-old pontiff came one day after he began receiving nutrition through a feeding tube.

While there were reports that the pope received the sacrament of the anointing of the sick — what used to be called the last rites, the Italian news agency ANSA said the pope "seems to showing a first positive reaction" to antibiotic therapy started a few hours earlier.

At the Gemelli Polyclinic, the hospital where the pope has been treated before, an emergency room chief said there were no plans to admit John Paul "at the moment," ANSA reported.

His assessment could mean that the Vatican medical staff feels confident it can handle the latest medical crisis with the sophisticated medical equipment installed at the Vatican. But it could also mean that the pope's condition was considered so precarious it would be better not to move him immediately.

At St. Peter's Square, about 100 people gathered late in the balmy evening in a sign of concern over the pope's fragile condition. "There's nothing we can do but pray. We're all upset," said Agriculture Minister Giovanni Alemanno, who was in the crowd. who was among 100 people gathered in St. Peter's Square in a sign of concern.

"I was in the car and I heard on the radio about the grave condition of the pope. I immediately thought I would come to St. Peter's," said Antonio Ceresa, a Roman.

Vatican officials could not be reached for comment on a report by CNN quoting an unidentified Vatican source as saying that John Paul received the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. The sacrament is often misunderstood as signaling imminent death. But it is performed not only for patients at the point of death, but also for those who are very sick — and it may be repeated.

The pope's spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, told The Associated Press by telephone that "the Holy Father today was struck by a high fever caused by a confirmed infection of the urinary tract."

The pontiff was started on "an appropriate" course of antibiotics, Navarro-Valls said. "The medical situation is being strictly controlled by the Vatican medical team that is taking care of him."

In medical terms, "appropriate" often refers to a choice of antibiotics based on laboratory analysis of the kind of bacteria causing the infection.

Lights in the papal apartment above St. Peter's Square were on until about 11 p.m., generally well past the papal bedtime. The light remained on in the Apostolic Palace's nursing station on the same floor as the pope's apartment.

Police cars and other vehicles were seen going in and out of the Vatican gates as the evening wore on, and a small crowd of Italians who were following news on television began gathering at the edge of the square.

Earlier, ANSA and another Italian news agency, Apcom, said the pope had suffered an alarming drop in blood pressure Thursday evening.

A urinary infection can produce fever and a drop in blood pressure as reported in the pope, said Dr. Marc Siegel, a specialist in internal medicine at the New York University Medical Center.

The pope's risk of such an infection is heightened because he is elderly — which suggests his prostate is probably enlarged — debilitated and run down from the illness that recently sent him to the hospital, Siegel said.

Urinary infections tend to respond well to antibiotics, given either as pills or intravenously, and "I would suspect there's a very good chance he's going to recover well," Siegel said.

Hospitalized twice last month following two breathing crises and with a tube placed in his throat to help him breathe, John Paul has become a picture of suffering. When he appeared at his apartment window Wednesday to bless pilgrims in St. Peter's Square, he managed to utter only a rasp.

Later that day, the Vatican announced he had been fitted with a feeding tube in his nose to help boost his nutritional intake.

The use of the feeding tube illustrates a key point of Roman Catholic policy John Paul has proclaimed: It is morally necessary to give patients food and water, no matter their condition.

As Parkinson's disease and other ailments have left him increasingly frail, the pope has been emphasizing that the chronically ill, "prisoners of their condition ... retain their human dignity in all its fullness."

The Vatican's attitude to the chronically ill has been apparent in its bitter condemnation of a judge's order two weeks ago to remove a feeding tube from Terri Schiavo, the severely brain-damaged American woman who died Thursday.

Vatican Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, reacting to Schiavo's death, denounced the removal of her feeding tube as "an attack against God."

Although different, some see parallels in the two cases.

Under John Paul, Vatican teaching on the final stages of life includes a firm rejection of euthanasia, insistence on treatments that help people bear ailments with dignity and encouragement of research to enhance and prolong life.

A 1980 Vatican document makes the distinction between "proportionate" and "disproportionate" means of prolonging life. While it gives room for refusal of some forms of aggressive medical intervention for terminally ill patients, it insists that "normal care" must not be interrupted.

John Paul set down exactly what that meant in a speech last year to an international conference on treatments for patients in a so-called persistent vegetative state. "I should like particularly to underline how the administration of water and food, even when provided by artificial means, always represents a natural means of preserving life, not a medical act. Its use, furthermore, should be considered, in principle, ordinary and proportionate, and as such morally obligatory."

John Paul's 26-year papacy has been marked by its call to value the aged and to respect the sick, subjects the pope has turned to as he battles Parkinson's disease and crippling knee and hip ailments.

It is not clear who would be empowered to make medical decisions for an unconscious pope. The pope has no close relatives, but the Vatican has officially declined to comment whether John Paul has left written instructions.

The Rev. Thomas Reese, editor of America, the Jesuit weekly magazine, published in New York City, said Thursday, "We don't know whether or not the pope has a living will. But if he does not, the statement issued a year ago would be a clear indication of his desire that he would not want to be disconnected from a feeding tube unless he was clearly dying."


List of known and previous papal ailments

A list of the current known ailments afflicting Pope John Paul II:

Breathing problems that forced him to undergo surgery Feb. 24 to insert a tube in his throat to aid respiration.

High fever from a urinary tract infection that also reportedly caused his blood pressure to fall.

Feeding tube to provide him with additional nutrition because of problems swallowing.

Parkinson's disease, affecting speech, mobility and posture, for at least a decade.

Knee and hip ailments that make it impossible to stand.


Past ailments

2002: Arthritis of the knee forced several appearances to be canceled.

1996: Inflamed appendix removed.

1994: Breaks leg in a fall, undergoes hip replacement surgery.

1993: Dislocates right shoulder in fall at the Vatican.

1992: Operation for benign tumor on colon.

1981: Shot in abdomen and hand by Turkish gunman in St. Peter's Square, later hospitalized again for infection linked to the wounds.

Source: The Associated Press


http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-03-31-pope-health_x.htm?csp=24&RM_Exclude=Juno

Jolie Rouge
03-31-2005, 10:48 PM
Vatican : Pope's condition "Very Serious"
April 1, 2005

Pope John Paul was in a 'very grave' condition and appeared close to death after suffering cardio-circulatory collapse and shock, the Vatican said in a statement.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/04/01/pope1/index.html



[b]Pope Close to Death, Receives Communion
21 minutes ago

By Philip Pullella and Crispian Balmer

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope John Paul was in a "very grave" condition on Friday and appeared close to death after suffering heart failure and shock, the Vatican said in a statement.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the 84-year-old Pope had received the "Holy Viaticum" -- communion reserved for those near death -- and had decided himself not to go to hospital for treatment.

The Vatican statement said the Pope had been given cardio-respiratory assistance on Thursday and on Friday morning was still "conscious, lucid and tranquil."

It said the Pope celebrated Mass with his close aides at 6.00 a.m. (11 p.m. EST) on Friday.

Pope John Paul's fragile health took a sharp turn for the worse on Thursday evening as he developed a very high fever caused by a urinary infection. After initially stabilizing, his condition then deteriorated further, the Vatican said. "Yesterday afternoon ... following a urinary infection, a state of septic shock and cardio-circulatory collapse set in," the statement said.

"This morning, the Holy Father's health condition is very grave."


The Pope has led the 1.1 billion-member Church for more than 26 years, but his health has declined steadily over the past decade. He has been seriously ill for most of the past two months and has failed to recover from recent throat surgery.

Doctors stayed at the John Paul's side through the night and a solitary light shone in the vast Apostolic Palace in a room believed to have been set up for medical staff.

BURNING FEVER

Italian media reported that the Pope's temperature leapt to around 40 C (104 F) on Thursday afternoon, the day after doctors had inserted a feeding tube into his stomach in an attempt to boost his fading strength.

In Rome, hundreds of people, many with tears in their eyes, rushed to the Vatican to pray below the Pope's windows. "We heard the news, and we're here to pray. We feel we need to be close to the Pope right now," said Sister Antonia.

The third longest-serving pope in Roman Catholic history spent 28 days in Rome's Gemelli Hospital in two periods in February and March after suffering breathing crises.

Once dubbed the "Great Communicator," the Pope has been unable to speak in public since he last left hospital on March 13, with a tube to help him breathe inserted in his windpipe.

The feeding tube was added on Wednesday because the Parkinson's disease was making it difficult for him to swallow and he was becoming increasingly weak.

Historians say one of the Pope's major legacies will remain his role in the fall of communism in Europe in 1989.

Just over a decade later, the Pope fulfilled another of his dreams. He visited the Holy Land in March 2000, and, praying at Jerusalem's Western Wall, asked forgiveness for Catholic sins against Jews over the centuries.

A tireless traveler, hailed as "God's Athlete," he has clocked up some 1.25 million km (775,000 miles) in 104 foreign trips to some 130 countries.

He has seemed as much at ease lecturing dictators of the left and the right as he has telling leaders of world democracies that unbridled capitalism and globalization are no panacea for the world's post-Cold War problems.

Critics, however, have attacked his traditionalist stance on family issues, such as his condemnation of contraception.

A former actor who wrote several plays, John Paul has used his mastery of timing, levity and languages to communicate as few other modern world figures have done.

(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart in the Vatican City and Andrew Stern in Chicago)


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&e=2&u=/nm/pope_dc




Vatican: Pope Has Suffered Heart Failure
43 minutes ago

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican said Friday that Pope John Paul II's condition was very serious, hours after he suffered heart failure.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement that on Thursday afternoon the pope's heart stopped momentarily during treatment for a urinary tract infection.

"This morning the condition of the Holy Father is very serious," the statement said.

However, it said that the pope had participated in a 6 a.m. mass Friday and that "the Holy Father is conscious, lucid, and serene."

The pontiff's health declined sharply after he developed a high fever Thursday brought on by the infection. The pontiff was attended to by the Vatican medical team, and provided with "all the appropriate therapeutic provisions and cardio-respiratory assistance," the statement said.

The pope's wish to remain at the Vatican was respected, Navarro-Valls said.


The statement confirmed previous reports that the pope had received the sacrament for the sick and dying on Thursday evening.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=518&e=1&u=/ap/pope

Jolie Rouge
04-01-2005, 02:27 PM
Vatican: Pope John Paul II Is Near Death
39 minutes ago

By VICTOR L. SIMPSON, Associated Press Writer

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II was near death Friday, his breathing shallow and his heart and kidneys failing, the Vatican said. Millions of faithful around the world knelt, crawled on their knees, bowed their heads and lit candles to pray for the 84-year-old pontiff. "This evening or this night, Christ opens the door to the pope," Angelo Comastri, the pope's vicar general for Vatican City, told a crowd at St. Peter's Square, where tens of thousands prayed into the chilly night. Many tearfully gazed at John Paul's third-floor window, wrapping themselves in blankets.


The Vatican said Friday morning that John Paul was in "very grave" condition after suffering blood poisoning from a urinary tract infection the previous night, but that he was "fully conscious and extraordinarily serene" and declined to be hospitalized.


By Friday night, the pope's condition had worsened further, and he was suffering from kidney failure and shortness of breath but had not lost consciousness as of 9:30 p.m., the Vatican said.


Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, the Vatican's health minister, told Mexico's Televisa dal Vaticano that the pope "is about to die."


"I talked to the doctors and they told me there is no more hope," the Mexican cardinal told the television channel.


As word of his condition spread across the globe, special Masses celebrated the pope for transforming the Roman Catholic Church during his 26-year papacy and for his example in fearlessly confronting death.


In Wadowice, Poland, people left school and work early and headed to church to pray for their native son. "I want him to hold on, but it is all in God's hands now," said 64-year-old Elzbieta Galuszko at the church where the pope was baptized. "We can only pray for him so he can pull through these difficult moments."


In the Philippines, tears streamed down the face of Linda Nicol as she and her husband asked God to grant John Paul "a longer life."


At the Church of the Assumption in Lagos, sub-Saharan Africa's most populous city of over 13 million, about 200 Nigerians in Western clothes and bright traditional African robes sat on wooden benches, offering prayers for the pope at a midday Mass.


In Washington, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick said he had heard from Rome that the pope was "sinking." McCarrick said he prayed that God will "take him peacefully."


The White House said President Bush and his wife were praying for the pope and that the world's concern was "a testimony to his greatness."


By afternoon, a steady stream of pilgrims jammed the Via della Conciliazione, the main avenue leading to St. Peter's. Some carried candles, while others held rosaries. Some looked through binoculars or camera lenses at the window of John Paul's apartment.


Police put the crowd at 30,000 during a recitation of the rosary in the square Friday night, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. The two windows of John Paul's apartment lit up an otherwise darkened Apostolic Palace. Most people in the square stood still and silent after the prayers ended. "We are near to him in prayer so that he can go to heaven, welcomed by the Lord and the other saints," said Rossella Longo, a young woman distributing rosaries to the crowd.


Tripp McLaughlin, a 20-year-old American in Rome, said "it would be a blessing if he passed on." "You see video of him when he became pope, he was so alive, so excited to be here. Now to see him break down is just really sad," McLaughlin said.


Among those at the square in the morning was Rome's chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, who said he came "to pray here in the piazza as a sign of sharing in the grief of our brothers for their concerns and as a sign of warmth for this pope and for all that he has done."

During the morning, John Paul had participated in Mass and received some top aides at his bedside, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said. The pope declined to be hospitalized.

Cardinal Marcio Francesco Pompedda, a high-ranking Vatican administrator, visited the pope Friday morning and said he opened his eyes and smiled. "I understood he recognized me. It was a wonderful smile — I'll remember it forever. It was a benevolent smile — a father-like smile," Pompedda told RAI television. "I also noticed that he wanted to tell me something but he could not. ... But what impressed me very much was his expression of serenity."

Hospitalized twice last month after breathing crises, and fitted with a breathing tube and a feeding tube, John Paul has become a picture of suffering. His papacy has been marked by its call to value the aged and to respect the sick, subjects the pope has turned to as he battles Parkinson's disease and crippling knee and hip ailments.

It is not clear who would be empowered to make medical decisions for an unconscious pope. The Vatican has declined to say whether John Paul has left written instructions.

John Paul's health declined sharply Thursday when he developed a high fever brought on by the infection. The pope suffered septic shock and heart problems during treatment for the infection, the Vatican said.

Septic shock involves both bacteria in the blood and a consequent over-relaxing of the blood vessels. The vessels, which are normally narrow and taut, get floppy in reaction to the bacteria and can't sustain any pressure. That loss of blood pressure is catastrophic, making the heart work hard to compensate for the collapse.

Even the fittest patients need special care and medicine to survive. "The chances of an elderly person in this condition with septic shock surviving 24 to 48 hours are slim — about 10-20 percent, but that would be in an intensive care unit with very aggressive treatment," said Dr. Gianni Angelini, a professor of cardiac surgery at Bristol University in England.

Dr. Peter Salgo, associate director of the intensive care unit at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, said the pope's shallow breathing "is totally consistent with severe failure of the blood vessels to provide blood to all the key organs. Eventually you run out of reserve."

The pontiff was treated by the Vatican medical team and provided with "all the appropriate therapeutic provisions and cardio-respiratory assistance," the Holy See said. It said the pope was being helped by his personal doctor, two intensive care doctors, a cardiologist, an ear, nose and throat specialist and two nurses.

On Friday morning, John Paul asked aides to read him the biblical passage describing the 14 stations of the Way of the Cross, the path that Christ took to his Crucifixion and burial, Navarro-Valls told reporters. The pope followed attentively and made the sign of the cross, he said.

John Paul also asked that scripture of the so-called "Third Hour" be read to him. The passage is significant because according to tradition, Christ died at three o'clock in the afternoon. "This is surely an image I have never seen in these 26 years," the usually unflappable Navarro-Valls said.

Choking up, he walked out of the room.

___

AP Medical Writer Emma Ross in Rome contributed to this story.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=1&u=/ap/20050401/ap_on_re_eu/pope_56

Jolie Rouge
04-01-2005, 03:24 PM
[b]TV Networks Scramble to Cover Ill Pope
43 minutes ago

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer

NEW YORK - Fox News Channel erroneously reported the death of Pope John Paul II on Friday afternoon, backpedaled several minutes later, then apologized to viewers for the mistake.

Television networks were marshaling resources and dealing with conflicting reports as the pope's illness took a turn for the worse Friday, maintaining an electronic vigil like the Roman Catholic faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.


Viewers could be forgiven for confusion as the cable news networks flashed reports at them. At 12:30 p.m. EST, MSNBC posted the words "Pope lost consciousness" on its screen. At the same moment, CNN was reporting: "Pope visibly joining in prayers of those around him."

But at 1:23 p.m., Fox News Channel anchor Shepard Smith reported that the pope had died. At least initially, he did not cite sources.

By 1:30 p.m., Fox reporter Greg Palkot in Rome was sending signals of caution, saying the report had not been confirmed and the network was checking into it. "The exact time of death, I think, is not something that matters so much at this moment for we will be reliving John Paul's life for many days and weeks and even years and decades and centuries to come," Smith said.


Smith explained to viewers that a Fox sister company in Italy had been listening to an inaccurate report and it was transmitted to Fox. Fox spokeswoman Irena Briganti said a Fox producer, monitoring a translation of reports from Italian media, erroneously shouted that the pope had died and it had gotten on the air through an open mike. Smith was responding to the producer's words.

About 1:55 p.m., Smith apologized to Fox viewers for the initial unsubstantiated report. "By way of explanation, I am very sorry," Smith said. "That's all I can say."

About five minutes after Fox's report, CNN reported that there were conflicting news agency reports about whether the pope was still alive. One of its Vatican reporters, Delia Gallagher, said CNN had no independent confirmation and "we have to be very careful."

The Associated Press sent an advisory to its members at 1:31 p.m. that some Italian media were reporting the pope was dead and that the AP was trying to verify the reports. At 1:55 p.m., the AP sent a NewsAlert that the Vatican had denied he was dead. "There are a lot of conflicting reports over there and we apologize for the confusion," CNN's Miles O'Brien told viewers.

NBC News aired a special report around noon saying the pope was gravely ill, but for the most part the broadcast networks were on standby. NBC's Brian Williams stayed in the network studio for most of the day, ready to go on the air at a moment's notice with a special report.

NBC's Matt Lauer made it to Rome to anchor the "Today" show on Friday morning. Other network correspondents were either there or en route: ABC's George Stephanopoulos and CBS' John Roberts. NBC said Williams will also be heading to Vatican City.

Television networks have been preparing for this story behind the scenes for years, renting apartments and space on roofs overlooking St. Peter's Square so their anchors and reporters will have backdrops for the story. They were starting to use some of that space on Friday.



Almost forgotten by the cable news networks was the story to which they had devoted most of their airtime for the past two weeks: Terri Schiavo, who died on Thursday.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=2&u=/ap/tv_pope&sid=84439559