Pope John Paul II has suffered a flu relapse and was rushed back to the hospital. This is not good news for someone that age and if you watch the ebb and flow of news reports on the Pope now you can see that the media is preparing for the final chapter.
UPDATE: The Pope was given a tracheotomy :”Pope John Paul II underwent a 30-minute operation to insert a tube in his throat to relieve his breathing problems…Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the tracheotomy was a success and that the pope had approved the procedure.”
Earlier details:
The 84-year-old pontiff had the same symptoms of the breathing crisis that sent him to Gemelli Polyclinic on Feb. 1, a Vatican official said on condition of anonymity. On Wednesday, the pope made his longest public appearance since being discharged from the clinic two weeks ago.
Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the pope was taken to the Rome hospital for “necessary specialized assistance and further tests.” He was taken by ambulance at 10:45 a.m., officials said…But aides said on condition of anonymity that the pope had a fever, congestion and had suffered a relapse of breathing problems.
The story says he was conscious when he arrived and looked quite relaxed. Watch for any and all trips the Pontiff makes to the hospital to get big play now. When I was on the newspapers they used to call this part of the “death watch.” The actual obit of a famous person is usually written way in advance — even years. The main part of the story is written and saved so the lead and end paragraphs can be inserted later.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.