Doctors Contemplated Ending Treatment for Pope Francis Due to Life-Threatening Health Crisis

Pope Francis came perilously close to death during his 38-day battle in the hospital against pneumonia, to the extent that his medical team considered halting treatment to allow him to pass peacefully, according to the head of the pope’s medical team.

Following a breathing crisis on 28 February, which involved Francis almost choking on his vomit, “there was a significant risk he might not survive,” stated Sergio Alfieri, a physician at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.

“We had to decide whether to stop treatment and let him go, or to proceed with all available medications and therapies, accepting the high risk of harming his other organs,” Dr. Alfieri explained in an interview with Italy’s Corriere della Sera.

“Ultimately, we chose this latter path,” he added.

Francis was admitted to Gemelli hospital on 14 February due to bronchitis that escalated into double pneumonia, a particularly severe condition for him since he had experienced pleurisy as a young adult and had one lung partially removed.

The Vatican shared an unusually high level of detail in its daily updates regarding the pope’s condition during his hospitalization, which included four “respiratory crises” characterized by intense coughing fits due to constricted airways, similar to asthma attacks.

Dr. Alfieri had previously stated that two of these crises were critical and placed Francis “in danger of his life.” In the recent interview, he mentioned that it was the pope’s personal nurse who, after the vomiting incident, urged the medical team to continue treatment.

“Try everything; don’t give up,” was the message from Massimiliano Strappetti, the pope’s nurse, as relayed by Dr. Alfieri.

“For days, we faced the risk of harming his kidneys and bone marrow, but we persevered, and his body responded positively to the medications, leading to an improvement in his lung infection,” said Dr. Alfieri.

Since leaving the hospital, Francis has been advised to take an additional two months of rest for full recovery. However, it remains uncertain how much he will be in the public eye in the upcoming weeks.

Reflecting on the pope’s first public appearance following his hospitalization, when Francis emerged on a hospital balcony to greet well-wishers on Sunday, Dr. Alfieri noted that this moment was particularly impactful during the pope’s treatment.

“I saw him leave the 10th-floor room at Gemelli dressed in white,” the doctor recalled. “It was an emotional experience to witness the man once again become the pope.”