Pope Francis will be released from the hospital on Sunday, after 38 days to fight against a case of potentially fatal pneumonia in the two lungs, said his doctors.
The medical director of Dr. Sergio Alfieri of the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where the 88 -year -old is treated, said that Francis would need at least two months of rest and rehabilitation when he continues to get back to the Vatican.
The pontiff was admitted to Gemelli on February 14 after an aggravation of bronchitis. He then developed a fatal case of pneumonia.
The Pope’s doctors provided their first update in person on his condition in a month, in a sign that he made good progress and regular in his battle against double pneumonia.
The Saturday evening briefing has been the first since February 21, a week after Francis was brought to the hospital. He subsequently experienced several respiratory crises which landed him in critical condition, although he has since stabilized.
In another development, the Vatican announced that Francis would appear on Sunday morning to bless the faithful of his sequel to 10th floors in the hospital. While Francis published an audio message on March 6 and the Vatican distributed a photo of him on March 16, the blessing of Sunday will be the first live appearance since Francis was admitted to what has become the longest hospitalization of its 12 -year papacy.
Francis, who suffers from a chronic pulmonary disease, is subject to respiratory problems in winter and had part of a lung as a young man withdrawn was admitted after worsening bronchitis.
Doctors first diagnosed an infection of the bacterial, viral and fungal respiratory tract, and shortly after, pneumonia in the two lungs. Blood tests have shown signs of anemia, low blood plates and the start of kidney failure, which all resolved later after two blood transfusions.
The most serious setbacks began on February 28, when Francis experienced an acute cough adjustment and inhaled vomit, forcing that he uses a non -invasive mechanical ventilation mask to help him breathe. He underwent two more breathing crises in the following days, which forced doctors to manually suck the mucus, how much he started sleeping with the ventilation mask at night to help his lungs clean the accumulation of liquids.
At no time did the Pope lost consciousness and the doctors reported that he was alert and cooperative.
Over the past two weeks, Francis has stabilized and has recorded slight improvements, the Vatican press office reported. He no longer needs to wear the ventilation mask at night and reduces his dependence on high speed of additional oxygen during the day.
