Posted on 12/04/2002 9:19:52 AM PST by NYer
People in Rome are expressing amazement over the Pope's health after watching him walk all the way into the Italian Parliament last week, and all the way out again.
'He is walking all the way aided only by his walking cane,' an Italian TV commentator said with incredulity, as if reporting on a Lazarus-like event. In actual fact, John Paul II was walking much better last week than at any time this year, and when he arrived in the Chamber of Deputies, he even walked up nine steps unaided to his seat on the dais, as MPs and Senators applauded his every step.
His walking was but one sign of his improved physical condition, another being his lively eyes. Also, he read his 40-minute address to the parliament, in a strong, clear, distinct voice without hesitation or unwanted pause, and it was noted that the tremor in his left hand was considerably contained. His facial muscles again managed to produce a smile, and he was in fact in much better physical shape than even when he visited Krakow last August.
How can all this be explained? Has his medical treatment been changed? Is he taking new medicines? Is he on a special diet? Or is the explanation of a more supernatural kind?
Depending on who one asks in the Vatican, one is given one or other of the above three explanations, or a combination of all four. No one seems to know for sure, but some time ago, the Pope's personal physician, Dr Renato Buzzonetti, ruled out suggestions the improvement was due to anti-ageing pills Prof Luc Montagnier gave the Pope, last May.
Anonymous Vatican sources, quoted by Rome's daily, Il Messaggero, attributed the improvement to the 'rest' the Pope had at his summer residence this year, combined with 'a different dosage' for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. But it seems the Pope has also changed his diet, according to the paper, producing a ratio between carbohydrates (40 per cent), protein (30 per cent) and fats (30 per cent).
It seems he has abandoned the typical Polish diet, which is rich in fats, and now takes more fruit and vegetables. This works well with the drugs that he is taking.
In addition he does some physical exercises almost every day, the paper said, and this includes using a bicycle machine, stretching exercises and leg movements on a bed, aided by two physiotherapists from the Gemelli Hospital. At his summer residence last summer, as The Universe reported at the time, the Pope went swimming for an hour a day three or four times a week.
All these factors have contributed to a visible improvement in his condition, though some sources in the Vatican say a supernatural cause also 'cannot be ruled out.'
In any case, the fact is that the Pope is in far better condition today than he was at the start of the year, and now looks set to celebrate his silver jubilee as Pope on 16 October 2003.
Let's hope that the renewed strength in his legs will inspire him to kick some butt in the American hierarchy - which sorely needs a butt-kicking.
Thanks. The Pope inspires in more ways than one.
Sound like anyone we know?
This is one you SHOULD forward ... I'll bold the text for you.
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