Pope's delicate road to recovery: What's next after hospital stay
After leaving the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, the Pope's health is being monitored by 61-year-old Luigi Carbone, the "personal doctor" for the Holy Father in the Vatican. He will determine how Pope Francis will function in the coming weeks.
On Sunday, after 37 days, Pope Francis left the hospital, where he had been admitted on February 14 due to a respiratory infection. He greeted the gathered crowd from the fifth-floor balcony of the Gemelli Polyclinic, saying, "Thank you."
Dr. Luigi Carbone, one of the doctors who cared for the Pope at Gemelli and who also participated in two press conferences, will now make future decisions regarding therapy and rehabilitation. He will advise on how long the recovery period should last. In this task, he will be assisted by 54-year-old Massimiliano Strappetti, Francis's nurse and trusted confidant.
As seen during the car ride to the Vatican, Francis must continue oxygen therapy.
Strappetti, who is practically never away from his side, will assist daily with physical and respiratory rehabilitation. In case of complications, a medical team near the Domus Sanctae Marthae is ready for intervention 24/7.
Francis resides in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, but in accordance with doctors' recommendations, he must limit contacts as much as possible. Here, the role of Edgar Peña Parra, a 65-year-old Venezuelan, becomes important, as he is the third person in the hierarchy of the Apostolic See. He acts as the "substitute for the Secretariat of State," serving as the daily liaison between the Pope and the Vatican machinery.
Detailed instructions from doctors
As ABC Sociedad writes, the Pope's discharge from Gemelli Hospital marks the beginning of a new phase of the pontificate, which Cardinal Fernández described as "full of surprises," but which will be extremely delicate. "Francis will need to arm himself with patience because every gesture and decision will be closely analyzed by those who are pressing for him to resign from office," it reads.
Francis returned home with precise instructions from the doctors: he will not be able to immediately return to normal activities and will have to continue pharmacotherapy, oxygen therapy, as well as physical and respiratory rehabilitation for at least two months.
Time will be needed to regain the ability to speak clearly, as is the case for most patients who have had bilateral pneumonia.
