Posted on 03/31/2005 9:54:01 PM PST by bd476
Edited on 04/02/2005 7:53:51 AM PST by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
From Rome CBS Radio News: (rough transcription of update)
The Vatican has been transparent in allowing news media access to information about Pope John Paul II. Pope John Paul II is responsible for the change in how the Vatican views the media.
At this time, Pope John Paul II's condition is unchanged.
His heart and kidneys are failing. The Vatican said that this does not suggest that he is suffering.
He has a compromised state of consciousness, yet he is not in a comatose state.
He drifts in and out of consciousness. One Vatican source said that it appeared that the Pope is resting with his eyes shut.
Pope John Paul II has responded by opening his eyes when spoken to. He has also tried to speak in the past few hours.
An Aide assisted Pope John Paul II in writing a message to his beloved staff gathered in the Papal apartment. The Pope asked them not to be sad for him.
____________________
Pope John Paul II has suffered a cardiac arrest and is in a grave condition, the Vatican has announced.
The urgent communique came hours after the Pope's health worsened with a high fever caused by an infection.
"Following a urinary tract infection, septic shock and a cardiocirculatory collapse occurred," Vatican spokesman Navarro-Valls said in his statement.
The Pope was also given the last rites - the Catholic sacrament for the sick and dying, the spokesman said.
But he said the pontiff remained "conscious, lucid and tranquil".
The emergency department chief at Rome's Gemelli hospital said on Thursday the Pope would not be taken to hospital for the time being.
Some observers said this suggested it meant he was too weak to be moved at all.
Sombre mood
Small groups of faithful gathered at St Peter's Square in Rome to pray for the Pope's speedy recovery.
However, the mood in the Vatican is sombre, the BBC's David Willey in Rome reports.
Prelates are openly expressing pessimism about the possibility of the Pope ever resuming the guidance of his one billion-strong church, our correspondent says.
The pontiff is being fed through a nasal tube to aid his recovery from throat surgery last month.
The Pope had appeared briefly at the window of his Vatican apartment on Easter Sunday to bless the faithful, but was not able to speak.
It was the first time during his 26-year pontificate that the Pope delegated the main Easter ceremonies to his cardinals.
'Lost weight'
On Thursday afternoon, the Pope's temperature soared to 40 degrees C (104F), Italian media reported.
He developed breathing troubles and has difficulty in swallowing as a result of the progress of Parkinson's Disease, an incurable condition from which he has been suffering for nearly a decade.
Since his throat surgery, he has lost about 19 kg (42 lb), Father Hejmo said, which leaves him more vulnerable to infections.
The Pope's private doctor Renato Buzzetti is in charge of his medical treatment in his private apartment at the Vatican.
So far this year the Pope has had two spells in hospital where he received treatment for breathing problems and underwent an operation on his throat.
I have literally camped out all night
on the couch in front of the TV. Looks
like he'll make Sunday?
I think so.
I've slept "some" -- off and on, have you?
HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity,Thanks for the ping.
"Irreversible condition."
Yes, he's on his way,.. Thy will be done.
About 4 until 11. My head hit the pillow and BAM it was time to get up. I guess I needed it.
GOOD, glad you slept.
Our livingroom is still a wreck from
2 of the grandchildren yesterday, but
I have zero energy. It'll have to remain
in present condition for a while longer.
Hey, thanks so much for the updates. :)
Have you slept at all?
No not yet. Hope you slept well.
I also camped out in front of the TV because they said at one point that his death was expected soon but then my eyes got heavy after a couple of hours and I napped on and off. The weather is terrible here with heavy winds that rattle the windows so I woke frequently.
you should try and sleep a little.
Kate
I hope you're able to rest:
(lying down on a couch in front of TV)?
Oceanperch, here is a transcript I typed up of the last Vatican news conference medical statement:
April 2, 2005 0955 PST Transcript Special Report Live from CBS News at Vatican
Oh good, did you get the most recent one?
Thankfully the message that he was talking a little and thinking of young people trumped the more sober news.
Looks like I am not the only one that couldn't sleep but finally fell asleep at about 3:30 this morning with the TV on and then I figured I would wake up to the Pope's passing but he is still hanging on -- now beginning to think he is going to make it to Sunday.
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