NEWS ABOUT BENEDICT

Surely you recognise me, despite my heavy disguise!!!!!
Told you I would dare anything.......

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@benefan: Yes, come to think of it, those blue things are removed before anyone leaves hospital. I feel that I've seen enough of them to last me a lifetime [though, thank God, only once in myself]. I'm sure it is where an intravenous saline drip goes in. Yes, indeed - why was it not removed? I don't know what the red plastic thing is.
Is there a doctor in the house? Or anyone with a doctor in the family, who can help us? Nan is a nurse. When she reads this she may be able to help.

Poor Papa. And, of all times, during his vacation!
They leave the venous catheter in when they plan to administer more drugs intravenously. Perhaps he is getting pain killers or an antibiotic?

Thanks Mary for finding this video for us!

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8156358.stm

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I wouldn't worrhy about that needle left in Papino's left wrist, girls.

It's a prudent measure, especially for older patients, to leave it in for the next few hours, in case the patient requires a transfusion of medication or intravenous fluids, or simply needs to have blood drawn for some follow-up check.

It avoids subjecting the patient to another searching for a good prominent vein and sticking a new vein. The doctor or nurse simply has to hook up new sterile tubing and use the needle already secured. Sorry for the technical explanation.

The important thing is all seems well, and the vacation goes on.


TERESa

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I agree totally with Teresa. The local anesthesia used for the surgery would have gone into his right arm to numb that area for surgery. The doctor could gave Papa pain medications if needed through the IV remaining in his left arm. He could also get an antibiotic. Personally I would rather have that IV in his arm than try to find a vein if the need should arise.

Pope coping with cast on broken wrist

By COLLEEN BARRY
Associated Press Writer
July 18, 2009

LES COMBES, Italy (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI spent an easy night after breaking his wrist in his Alpine vacation chalet and is learning to cope with the cast on his right arm, the Vatican said Saturday.

Benedict, 82, will stick to his schedule of public appearances, including the traditional Angelus prayer on Sunday outside the town of Ivrea, about an hour away, Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said in a statement.

Benedict had surgery at the hospital of the nearby town of Aosta on Friday to set his right wrist, fractured when he fell overnight in a chalet where he staying in the mountain hamlet of Les Combes, near the French border.

The right-handed pope will have to keep the cast for a month. Lombardi said the toughest part for Benedict was giving up writing by hand, which he had planned to spend much of his time doing during his traditional summer vacation.

"He is learning to live with a blocked wrist, this is not very easy," Lombardi told AP Television News. "The pope cannot write, do handwriting as he desired in these days. But for the other aspects, the day is normal."

On Saturday, Benedict celebrated Mass, as is his custom, and was visited by three doctors to check on his recovery.

But he also had to adapt to changes in his routine. Another pleasure that he is sure to be denied in the near term is playing the piano. The pope is a classical music-lover and enjoys playing while on vacation.

The pontiff's injury was cause for concern in the mountain hamlet of Introd, the nearest town to Les Combes.

"Poor man," said Manuela Vecsion, a 46-year-old city hall employee. "We waited anxiously all day" to find out how he fared at the hospital "but everything at the end was OK."

The fracture was the first significant medical issue of Benedict's 4-year-old papacy. Doctors said Friday that he would suffer no long-term effects and would be able to return to playing piano and writing once the wrist heals.

Benedict is scheduled to stay until July 29 in Les Combes. On Sunday he will go as planned to Romano Canavese, a village outside Ivrea and the hometown of his No. 2 official, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, to deliver the Angelus, Lombardi said.

He also will celebrate Vespers in Aosta's cathedral on Friday, besides the Sunday blessing in Les Combes on July 26.

Benedict has spent two summers at Les Combes since becoming pope. He said upon arrival that he expected to rest and work during his vacation.

His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, also spent several summers here. While John Paul liked to hike, Benedict spends most of his time inside the chalet, which looks out on Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps.

He doesn't look happy...

and he looks very tired. I'll bet he didn't have the "easy night" that the official statement said he did and I'm sure he misses being able to write and play the piano.

I'm delighted to see the photos though. Thanks, benevolens, for finding them. I'm also glad to see that someone has found a sling for his arm. He told the Memores sisters at the chalet that the cast was a lot heavier than he expected. I suspect he thought it was going to be one of those high-tech plastic ones, not plaster. At least, he can get out and hike around. The exercise and fresh air will be healthy for him.

It occurred to me yesterday that if you have to break a bone, doing so in Val d'Aosta is probably one of the best places in the world to do it. The docs there must be really skilled at dealing with broken bones, considering all the tourists skiing there in the winter who think they are Olympic champions but aren't.

He does look tired. But then, anybody would. Try to sleep with a cast on... not very comfortable.

Considering that normally sick days don't count as vacation days... he should be able to prolong his vacation for the amount of offical/medical sick days.

I really hope they'll give him as little work as possible when he gets to CSG!!

For those who may not be following the BENEDETTO XVI FORUM, I think the following articles by Andrea Tornielli are quite informative:


Newspapers around the world today carry the story of what can only be the most widely followed wrist fracture in history - one of those awesome indications of just how important the Pope is as a worldwide icon.

A few important details have emerged in the stories that followed the initial flurry of real-time coverage yesterday. Andrea Tornielli, reporting from Aosta, reveals how it happened. I am only posting the relevant parts, omitting what has been previously reported.



How it happened:
He stumbled in the dark
by Andrea Tornielli
Translated from

July 18, 2009

...

The Pope's accident took place around 1 a.m. He got up from bed to go the bathroom without turning on the lights. He stumbled and broke his fall with his right hand. He felt pain in it but he did not wish to wake up anyone.

In the morning, he got up and came down a few minutes late to celebrate his daily Mass. He told his household - private secretary, two Memores housekeepers and valet - what had happened in the night, saying he thought he might have broken his wrist.

But he wanted to say Mass first before calling his private physician, Dr. Patrizio Polisca, who is lodged in another cottage in the Salesian vacation colony at Les Combes.

Dr. Polisca saw him after breakfast. (This was his first travel with the Pope since he took over from Dr. Renato Buzzonetti in the spring.) He confirmed the fracture and urged that the Pope be seen at the hospital in Aosta (the nearest major hospital, only 20 kms. from Les Combes).

So the incident was not due to an illness, but to a stumble in the dark. The Pope got up by himself, did not want to wake up his household, and went back to sleep.

Arriving in the emergency room in Aosta, he was subjected to a complete medical check-up, considering his age. He was given a private room to facilitate security arrangements.

The check-up tests were normal and confirmed that the fall could not be attributed to any physiological malfunction. Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi thus proceeded to inform the media and assure them that it was just a slight fracture and there was nothing to be concerned about.

After seeing the X-rays of the broken wrist, orthopedist Manuel Mancini explained the options to the Pope.

The first was simply to place the entire right forearm in a cast while the fracture healed - apart from the inconvenience, there is a risk that the fracture would not be perfectly recomposed.

The better management, which the Pope chose [described in the storeis posted in the preceding page] was a simple 'closed' surgical intervention that would involve no cuts and allow a smaller cast covering only the wrist and the forehand. Healing would be faster and there would be much more freedom of movement.

...

In its account,
showed a simple diagram of
the fracture and the Kirchner pins used to 'staple'
the bone together:

The pins (very thin wires) were cut so that the two tips
emerge from the skin (and capped with plastic), which
will facilitate pulling them out after the bone is healed.



Tornielli also writes an informative situationer on the Pope's health - and why he has been seen to stumble a few times in public:

The Pope is in good health -
but he sees little with his left eye
by Andrea Tornielli
Translated from

July 18, 2009


What is the state of the Pope's health?

The accidental fall he had in the wee hours of Friday at his vacation chalet in Les Combes three days after arriving for his annual summer vacation has reawakened this question.

The overall clinical picture is good for an 82-year-old man who was called in April 2005, three days after his 78th birthday, to follow John Paul II as Pope.

Accustomed for decades to a life with a very controlled methodical rhythm - much of it long hours at his desk, writing, researching or studying sensitive doctrinal questions from around the world - Joseph Ratzinger found himself catapulted into the world stage, where he had to get used to a new ryhthm and a completely different way of life.

Intercontinental travels with crammed programs, almost-daily private and public audiences, long and often exhausting liturgies to preside over with worldwide TV broadcasts.

Knowing exactly what he is able to do, Benedict XVI sought from the start to pace himself properly. He does not tolerate heat well, he tires out easily, and he needs his daily early afternoon siesta - which he tries to observe even when he is travelling.

He has no disabilitating ailment and does not follow any specific diet, but he takes regular medication to maintain cardiovascular circulation, undergoes periodic blood tests for general health indicators, and is monitored regularly for any sign of heart problems.

Seventeen years ago, he fell and hit his head on the radiator while on vacation in Bressanone. He was hospitalized for two days for observation after what doctors diagnosed as a transient ischemic attack (TIA, with short-term symptoms similar to a stroke).

Since then, however, his health has been substantially good.

He walks without difficulty, even up and down stairs. Indeed, he moves agilely for his age. And we have seen how easily he prostrates himself at the Good Friday Adoration of the Cross and just as easily gets up by himself, as well as his quick reflexes the few times we have seen him stumble or slip on TV.

Some people have thought that these stuumbles may indicate an ailment or a loss of balance due to circulatory problems.

But the real reason is that the Pope sees little with his left eye, and this has caused him some problems with steps, especially when they are covered with a monochrome carpet.

During liturgies, he is weighed down with liturgical vestments, which further get in the way when he has to manage steps. [That is why his ceremonial masters, or assisting deacons, whoever is nearer, are always at his elbow at these times.]

If they really want to see "eagle-eyed", they need to talk to some of us on the forum. When it comes to Papa, we notice EVERYTHING. The excerpt below is from a CNS blog.


Pope doing well, will continue vacation

by Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
Posted on July 18, 2009

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI spent a peaceful night in Les Combes after undergoing a brief surgical procedure yesterday to repair his right wrist, which he fractured in a fall, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi said this morning.

Last night, I forwarded to Father Lombardi a photo taken as the pope left the hospital. Our eagle-eyed photo/graphics editor, Nancy Wiechec, noticed something in a close-up of the pope’s left wrist — the one that is not in a cast. This morning, the papal spokesman told me that before the surgical procedure, the pope’s doctors had inserted a small intravenous catheter into his left wrist to deliver pain medication if needed once the local anesthetic wore off. “It was removed last night,” he said.

Another video after the hospital

At the beginning of this video, you can see the warm reception Papa received from the two Memores sisters when he got back to the chalet from the hospital. Sigh.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpAn1Ywp2O4

Teresa, the articles you posted are very informative... and in my humble opinion very COOL!!! Love the diagram of the surgery!!!

Yes Papa looks tired in the pictures Benevolens posted. I can speak from personal experience. In college (back in the 1980's) during summer classes, I severely sprained my foot. To help the healing process, a cast was applied which started just below my knee and ended so that only my toes were exposed. The added weight of the cast itself took some getting used to. But the biggest problem was sleeping. The cast was hot and an ever-present sensation on my skin and even worse was the fact that I couldn't "move" freely in bed and was always waking up to turn over.

Papa, you are most definitely in my prayers: that the bone heals in the 4 weeks the cast will be on; that the weather cooperates and isn't too hot; and mostly that you can get the rest - sleep that you need.

I've just watched this on my computer. Papa was amazing! He didn't wear a sling and his ring is now back on his right hand. I must say, to me he looked a lot less tired than he did yesterday and was animated and obviously delighted at the enthusiasm of the people gathered in the square and also in the church. In the church one lady was very overwhelmed and literally buried her face in his left hand for what seemed like a long time. Doubtless there will be photos. Outside on the sagrato in front of the church Papa gave a long address in rapid Italian, much of it seeming to be ad lib. After the Angelus he had to meet what seemed like an endless line of local VIPs and I thought, at that point, that he did seem to become a bit tired.

He was able to raise his right arm, gave his usual "finger wiggling" wave and also gave the Blessing with his right arm.

Now go home and rest well this afternoon, dear Holy Father!!!!!!

Here's an updated report from the Associated Press on Papa's activities this morning.


Pope seems at ease with cast in blessing faithful

By COLLEEN BARRY (AP)
July 19, 2009

ROMANO CANAVESE, Italy – A beaming Pope Benedict XVI raised his cast-encased right arm to bless thousands of faithful Sunday during his first public appearance since surgery to set a wrist fractured in a fall.

The 82-year-old pope showed great agility two days after the accident. He held out his left hand for the faithful to kiss and to greet well-wishers, but raised his immobilized right arm to bless the crowd in this small Piemontese town's main square. He made the sign of the cross with ease.

"As you can see because of my accident, my mobility is a bit limited," Benedict told some 2,000 gathered in the main square at the start of his blessing. "But the presence of my heart is full."

He also thanked the doctors and medical staff at the Aosta hospital, where his wrist was reset on Friday, for their "diligence, competence and friendship," and also expressed thanks for all the prayers offered for his recovery.

Stepping out into the sunlight from beneath the canopy shading the outdoor altar, Benedict acknowledged the throngs in the square while another 5,000 or so followed on large screens set up in two other piazzas.

In his traditional Sunday blessing, the pope addressed the issue of growing unemployment in the region, which is dependent on both the automotive and telecommunications industries that have suffered in the global economic downturn.

"Dear friends, don't be discouraged," the pope urged. "Providence always helps those who work for the good and who occupy themselves with justice, helps those who don't think only of themselves, but of those who are worse off."

Andrea Accattino, vice mayor of the town of nearly 3,000, said the pope's visit was an important morale-booster for the community, which now has a jobless rate above 10 percent.

"Our hearts skipped a beat on Friday when they said he had fallen, but we didn't stop the planning machine," said Accattino. "The pope was smiling even if he was suffering a little from his wrist. He had a smile for everyone."

The pope underwent a 20-minute surgery on Friday after falling in a mountain chalet to reset the wrist he fractured in a fall, the first major medical issue of his 4-year papacy.

Doctors said the pope will have to wear the cast for a month, and that he should fully recover.

The pope's spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the pontiff was eager to keep his commitments despite the accident, which doctors said was not related to any medical condition.

"The Holy Father's condition is good," Lombardi told AP Television News on Sunday. "He needs to learn to live with an immobile wrist, meaning that some activities, in particular writing which is very important for him, will be limited. He's a very patient person and surely he will experience this small test with serenity."

He said well-wishes for the pope had poured in from around the globe in calls, letters and e-mails.

Benedict was returning to his mountain retreat in Les Combes, in the neighboring region of Val d'Aosta near the French border.

Benedict has spent two summers in a secluded chalet in the village of Les Combes since becoming pope. During his vacation, the pope said he expected to rest and work on the second volume of his book on Jesus of Nazareth — although the prospects for writing have been curtailed by his injury. The right-handed pope prefers to write by hand.

Here's a news clip from SKY-TV of this morning's Angelus. The Italian reporter is on camera A LOT but video of Papa is interspersed throughout the clip.


tg24.sky.it/tg24/cronaca/2009/07/19/il_papa_ai_poveri_e_ai_disoccupati_non_scoraggiat...

Here's the ANSA wrap-up from Romano Canavese, which has a lot of good detail:

Day 7 on vacation:
Pope blesses with his right hand,
cast and all - and shares
a relaxed lunch with
Cardinal Bertone's family
by Elisa Pinna




ROMANO CANAVESE, Piedmont, Italy, July 19 (Translated from ANSA) - Papa Ratzinger used his right hand - the one in a cast for a fractured wrist - to impart blessings on his first public event after the incident.

He was in great form, raising the injured arm easily; he moved the fingers of his right hand in his trademark way, almost like playing a piano; and he had the Fisherman's Ring, symbol of his papacy, back on his right ring finger. (He had to transfer it to the left hand for the operation on his wrist.)

The crowd at Romano Canavese, this little town in the Piedmont countryside, where Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone was born, applauded him with great enthusiasm.

"As you see, I am somewhat limited in my (arm) movement, but the presence of my heart is full," he had said before the Angelus prayers.

[The story then briefly goes over the highlights of the Pope's Angelus message - translated in full, along with the photo reportage on
benedettoxviforum.freeforumzone.leonardo.it/discussione.aspx?idd=8527207&p=18&#idm...

Next to the Pope, CArdinal Bertone was beaming. The Pope had not cancelled his Sunday commitment despite his domestic accident, and after acknowledging the sea of faithful crowded in Piazza Ruggia in front of the parish church, the Pope joined Bertone and his family at lunch in the family home in nearby Piazza Sarti.

Speaking to newsmen after the Pope had flown back to Les Combes in the helicopter that had brought him to Romano Canavese two hours earllier, Bertone jested that "he could not possibly give a blessing with his left hand, otherwise he might have had liturgical and theological problems!"

[Canon 168 on episcopal ceremonial provides that blessing are given with the right hand, which belongs to the 'noble part' of the body. There are exceptions: in the Old Testament, Job blessed his sons with the left, and in recent times, John Paul II used his left hand for a few weeks when he dislocated his right shoulder after a stumble and fall in 1993.)

Bertone noted, as everyone did, that the Pope was "in top form, very sure of himself, joyful - in public and in private".

In his Angelus message, the Pope spoke of the employment crisis in the area, which had followed the retrenchment of Ivrea-based Olivetti in the mid-1990s, a crisis that continues.

They also spoke about it over lunch later, the cardinal said, adding that there were 'good prospects for a new start for Olivetti". He recalled that even Pius XII used the standard Olivetti-22 typewriter to type out his texts.

At the Bertone family home, the Pope sat down to lunch with some twenty people, including the adult Bertones with the cardinal's younger siblings Valeriano and Mariuccia, and the Pope's own staff (secretary, chief of security, physician) and the Bishop of Ivrea.

The menu was simple: Parma ham with melon as antipasto; a risotto with Genoese pesto; maccheroncini; veal medallions with potatoes; and sorbet. The Pope drank his usual orange juice; the rest drank local wines, including an Erbaluce brand produced by the cardinal's brother.

The Pope ate with his left hand. Bertone observed that Benedict XVI is now learning to do more things with his left hand and finds it a useful exercise.

Bertone revealed that the Pope had received the latest-generation Olivetti notebook computer, from Telecom Italia's administrator Franco Bernabe, and the president of Olivetti, Francisco Forlenza.

Someone had suggested that it could be installed with voice recognition software that takes dictation, thus helping the Pope to resume his work on JESUS OF NAZARETH, volume 2, as he had planned to do. [That's a brilliant idea I hadn't thought of, though we use it in the office to facilitate the doctors dictating their notes on the spot - it's simple and uncomplicated. Could be a blessing in disguise if our Papino becomes computer-friendly because of this!]

"Well, let's see if we can deal with the new technology," Bertone commented.

Before leaving the Bertone home, the Pope had pictures taken with the Bertone clan, numbering around 50, including in-laws, nephews and nieces, and grandchildren.

The family also showed the Pope a plaque which they will append to the house wall, reading "The members of the Bertone family and their relatives remember with profound gratitude the Holy Father Benedict XVI who came to visit us in our paternal home".


And before the day is over, let me post this here, too:

FOUR YEARS, THREE MONTHS, AND COUNTING....

AD MULTOS ANNOS, SANCTO PATER!

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU ARE

TO THE CHURCH, TO THE WORLD, TO ALL OF US.