Pope Francis' Doctors Considered Stopping Treatment During Breathing Crisis

They instead decided on an aggressive course that put his organs at risk.

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis’ medical team briefly considered suspending treatment after a Feb. 28 breathing crisis but instead decided on an aggressive course that put his organs at risk, the doctor coordinating the pope’s hospital care said in an interview published Tuesday.

Dr. Sergio Alfieri said the 88-year-old pontiff and people close to him alike understood “that he might not survive the night,’’ after the bronchospasm attack during which the pope inhaled vomit.

“We needed to choose whether to stop and let him go, or to push it and attempt with all of the possible drugs and the treatments, taking the very high risk of damaging other organs,’’ Alfieri told told the Milan daily Corriere della Sera. “In the end, that is the path we chose.”

Francis was released Sunday after 38 days of treatment for double pneumonia, under doctors’ orders to observe two months of convalescence during which he should avoid large gatherings. The pope appeared weak and frail when he greeted the crowd outside the Gemelli hospital before his discharge.

The Vatican has said it is not clear if the pope will meet with King Charles III on a Vatican state visit next month, or any Holy Week activities leading up to Easter on April 20.