By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
(From the issue of 2/10/05)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II's condition continued improving on his third full day in the hospital, and doctors said he was "eating regularly."

Examinations carried out in Rome's Gemelli Hospital Feb. 1-4 "confirm the stabilization of his clinical situation," said Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the pope's spokesman.

The spokesman did not say Feb. 4 whether the pope still had a fever, whether his throat was still swollen or if doctors had predicted when the pope could be released from the hospital.

Navarro-Valls insisted that the doctors' Feb. 4 statement that the pope was "eating regularly" meant that he could swallow solid food and was not on a liquid-only diet, at least as of that morning.

The pope was taken to the hospital by ambulance at 10:50 p.m. Feb. 1 after experiencing difficulty breathing.

Doctors at Gemelli diagnosed an "acute laryngeal tracheitis," or swelling in the throat, with "laryngeal spasms," which cut off the air supply.

Navarro-Valls told reporters Feb. 3 that the swelling was going down and that there had been no more episodes of spasms.

Pope John Paul had been scheduled to participate in a Mass Feb. 5 with students from Rome's major seminary and members of their families. Navarro-Valls said the pope would watch the Mass on television from his hospital room and that an aide would read the homily he had prepared for the liturgy.

The spokesman also said the public recitation of the Angelus prayer at midday Sunday was an appointment the pope "holds dear and one he does not want to miss."

He said a decision would be made Feb. 5 about if and how the pope could lead the prayer Feb. 6 from the hospital.

The spokesman, who said all the information he had been sharing with the press came directly from the pope's doctors, also said the physicians do not plan to issue any further information about the pope's condition until Feb. 7.

"The fact that the doctors have decided to postpone until Monday (Feb. 7) the next information about the pope's health and its evolution is very reassuring," he said, as was the doctors' statement that "the Holy Father's health status has improved."

Responding to questions, the spokesman said many Vatican officials and Italian political leaders were going to the hospital to see the pope. However, he said he had no way of knowing if any of them -- with the exception of Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state -- were admitted to the pope's room.

The new U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, had been expected to meet Pope John Paul during a Feb. 7-8 visit to Rome. Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Rome and at the Vatican confirmed Feb. 4 that she would meet instead with Cardinal Sodano and the Vatican's foreign minister, Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo.

After a Feb. 3 morning visit, Navarro-Valls told reporters that the pope's tests were "satisfactory" and that it would be up to the doctors to decide how long the pope would remain in the hospital.

The spokesman, who trained as a medical doctor, said, "In my experience, it usually is about seven days."

Like other world leaders, U.S. President George W. Bush sent the pope a get-well message, the text of which was released by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See.

"I was saddened to hear of your recent illness," the president wrote. "On behalf of the American people, Laura and I send you warm wishes for a speedy recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time."

Among the hundreds of baskets and vases and bunches of flowers delivered to Gemelli and addressed to the pope, one of the biggest was an arrangement of orchids sent by the Libyan Embassy to the Holy See on behalf of the nation's leader, Moammar Gadhafi.

While a few of the arrangements decorated the papal suite and hospital chapels, most of the flowers were distributed throughout the hospital for the enjoyment of all the patients and their visitors.

Navarro-Valls said Pope John Paul's condition had stabilized within 12 hours of his hospitalization and that the pontiff was able to concelebrate Mass Feb. 2 from his hospital bed.

A Vatican official close to the pope told Catholic News Service Feb. 2 that "everything was calm, there was no panic" in the Vatican when the pope experienced difficulty breathing.

"They took him to the hospital just to make him more comfortable," the official said.

"He needs to rest for a few days in order to recover," he said.

The official said no one close to the pope thought the illness would be fatal.

Navarro-Valls had said that by early Feb. 2 the pope's "cardiorespiratory and metabolic" functions were "within normal limits," although the pope still had a "slight fever" at that point.

Beyond saying that the pope received "respiratory assistance" upon arriving at the hospital, Navarro-Valls would not specify the treatment the pope was receiving.

When asked if the pope had to undergo a tracheotomy, when a hole is cut in the trachea to assist breathing, Navarro-Valls said, "Absolutely not."

The spokesman said the pope did not lose consciousness when he was having trouble breathing Feb. 1, but obviously the episode "was sufficiently serious" that his personal physician, Dr. Renato Buzzonetti, decided hospitalization was advisable.

A guard at the hospital, who said he had seen the pope arrive in the ambulance, told Catholic News Service Feb. 2, "he was not doing well," he looked "awful. Let us hope for the best."

Earlier, Navarro-Valls had said that the pope began showing symptoms of the flu Jan. 30 and canceled his appointments for Jan. 31.

Then, Navarro-Valls said Feb. 1 the flu was continuing its natural progression, leading the pope to cancel his appointments for Feb. 1-2 as well.