Pope Francis shows slight improvement amid serious illness
The Pope remains hospitalized, with his condition still considered very serious, although there has been a slight improvement in recent hours. "My long-time colleague, paramedic Massimiliano Strappetti, is constantly with Francis. He doesn't leave the Pope's side for a moment," says Magdalena Wolińska-Riedi, a veteran Vatican correspondent, in an interview with "Super Express."
In a statement issued Wednesday evening, the Vatican reported that the mild kidney failure diagnosed in recent days has subsided. Meanwhile, a chest CT scan performed yesterday evening showed a normal progression of the lung inflammation.
"Under Francis's predecessors, each had their doctor. Dr. Renato Buzzonetti looked after John Paul II, and Prof. Fabrizio Polisca cared for Benedict XVI. Francis does not have a doctor exclusively for himself; on foreign trips, one of the doctors from the Vatican clinic accompanies the Pope," says Wolińska-Riedi.
She adds that the paramedic who looks after Francis arrived at the Vatican during the pontificate of John Paul II. "He doesn't leave the Pope's side for a moment. He's present at every audience, ceremony. At the Casa Santa Marta, and he was the one who insisted on hospitalizing Francis almost two weeks ago, after the bronchitis did not subside," describes the journalist.
The Pope has very good care. "The most advanced equipment"
She assures that the Pope has the best possible conditions in Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic. The entire tenth floor is reserved for the head of the Church. This space is used not only by the Pope and doctors but also by Francis's close associates and papal security.
"The hospital's structure is super modern and provides the Pope with the most advanced equipment, which supports doctors in the fight for his health and life. As a Vatican citizen, I had the opportunity to stay in these areas when I had to undergo orthopedic surgeries due to serious fractures, and it is indeed a section reserved for the Pope himself, cardinals, or a handful of Vatican residents," says Wolińska-Riedi.
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