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07/03/2005
Pope expected to leave hospital for Easter
Pope John Paul II is recovering and is expected to be well enough to leave hospital in time for Easter, the Vatican has announced.
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said that the "general conditions" of the Pope were continuing to improve and he was now able to spend long periods of the day sitting in an armchair.
The 84-year-old pontiff spent ten days in hospital at the beginning of February after he began to develop breathing difficulties, after contracting flu. He left Gemelli hospital in Rome on February 10, but had to be readmitted on February 24, after he suffered a relapse. A tracheotomy was performed on the Pope in order to ease his breathing.
Mr Navarro-Valls confirmed today that "no complications" had arisen as a result of the surgery. There had been fears about the pontiff undergoing the operation due to his increasingly frail health – he also suffers from Parkinson's disease and arthritis.
Mr Navarro-Valls also said that there was a "continual improvement" in the Pope's ability to speak, thanks to daily rehabilitation sessions. However, he said that doctors had advised a "prudent limitation" in the Pope's use of his voice, in order to help his larynx fully recover from the surgery.
It is expected that the Pope will be well enough to leave hospital in time for Easter week, which begins on March 20 this year, Mr Navarro-Valls said.
The next bulletin on the Pope's health is not expected before March 10.
(KMcA/SP)
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said that the "general conditions" of the Pope were continuing to improve and he was now able to spend long periods of the day sitting in an armchair.
The 84-year-old pontiff spent ten days in hospital at the beginning of February after he began to develop breathing difficulties, after contracting flu. He left Gemelli hospital in Rome on February 10, but had to be readmitted on February 24, after he suffered a relapse. A tracheotomy was performed on the Pope in order to ease his breathing.
Mr Navarro-Valls confirmed today that "no complications" had arisen as a result of the surgery. There had been fears about the pontiff undergoing the operation due to his increasingly frail health – he also suffers from Parkinson's disease and arthritis.
Mr Navarro-Valls also said that there was a "continual improvement" in the Pope's ability to speak, thanks to daily rehabilitation sessions. However, he said that doctors had advised a "prudent limitation" in the Pope's use of his voice, in order to help his larynx fully recover from the surgery.
It is expected that the Pope will be well enough to leave hospital in time for Easter week, which begins on March 20 this year, Mr Navarro-Valls said.
The next bulletin on the Pope's health is not expected before March 10.
(KMcA/SP)
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