Rome (AP) – Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera reported Thursday that Pope Francis's doctor opened his eyes and found the pope normally, but his eyes breathed normally when he was summoned to the Vatican early Monday morning.
Dr. Sergio Alfieri coordinated Francis' five-week bipneumonia treatment and continued to oversee the pope's treatment after the pope returned to the Vatican on March 23 for two months to allow for full recovery.
Massimiliano Strappetti, Francis' healthcare assistant, reminded Alfieri at 5:30 a.m. Monday that Francis was hit and needed to be taken to the hospital. The doctor told Corriere that he arrived in 20 minutes.
“I walked into his room and he opened his eyes. I pointed out that he had no respiratory problems, so I tried to call him, but he didn't respond,'' Alfieri was quoted as saying, “He also did not respond to the stimulation, or even the pain of the people.” In that moment, I learned that there was nothing else to do. He was in a coma. ''
Alfieri said it was too risky to move Francis back to Gemelli Hospital, where he was treated for a complex respiratory infection that killed him almost twice. “The Pope wants to die at home, and he always says in Gemelli.”
The Pope died two hours after suffering a stroke. Alfieri told Milan Daily that Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the rose color was on the body accompanied by the pope's family staff.
The doctor said, “I gave him a caress.”
Vatican News reported that the pope said goodbye to Strappetti after he became ill, and he said he did not seem to suffer.
Francis will be buried at a state funeral on Saturday, expected to attract including U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and dozens of official delegations.
