FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Sergio Alfieri, director of abdominal oncological surgery at the Gemelli Hospital, coordinator of the Holy Father's doctors during his hospitalization and his personal surgeon, speaks about the Pope in the present tense.
And for the first time, he reveals details and projects that have marked a relationship of "appreciation and love" that has grown over the years. Since, in 2021, he took care of the first abdominal intervention.
"In January, Pope Francis told me that we had to take care of the abandoned embryos. He was firm: 'They are lives, we cannot allow them to be used for experiments or to be lost. It would be murder.' We were also examining, with the Ministry of Health, among the various options, the way to give them up for adoption, but there was no time for the Pope to make his decision enforceable. My commitment now will be, if the conditions are created, to make this wish of his come true."
When did you last see him?
"Saturday after lunch, on the eve of Easter. And I can say that it was very good, he even told me himself. I brought him a cake with dark jam, as he likes, and we chatted a little. 'I'm very well, I've started working again and I like it.' I knew that the next day he would give the Urbi et Orbi blessing and we made an appointment for Monday."
You had prescribed 60 days of leave. Didn't you tell him to avoid work?
"No, because it was right. He is the Pope. Returning to work was part of the therapy and he never exposed himself to danger. It was as if, as he neared the end, he decided to do whatever he had to do. As happened on Sunday, when he accepted the proposal of his personal health aide, Massimiliano Strappetti, to go out into the crowd. Or as he did ten days ago."
What did he do?
"He asked me to organize a meeting with all the people who had treated him at Gemelli. I told him there were about 70 people, maybe it would be better after Easter, at the end of the break. But his answer was firm: 'I'll meet them on Wednesday.' Today I feel clearly that he knew he had to do some things before he died."
When did you meet?
"On Monday at around 5:30 am Strappetti called me: 'The Holy Father is very ill, we have to go back to Gemelli'. I warned everyone and twenty minutes later I was there in Santa Marta, however it seemed difficult to me to think that hospitalization was necessary. I entered his room and his eyes were open. I noticed that he had no problems breathing and I tried to speak to him, but he did not respond to me. He did not respond to stimuli, nor to those of pain. At that moment I realized that there was nothing more to be done. He was in a coma."
Even transportation to the hospital would have been useless?
“Rrezikonim që të vdiste gjatë transportit, shpjegova që shtrimi do ishte i panevojshëm. Strappetti e dinte që Papa donte të vdiste në shtëpi, kur ishim në Gemelli ai e thoshte gjithmonë. Ndërroi jetë pak më pas. Unë qëndrova atje me Massimiliano, Andrea, infermierët e tjerë dhe sekretarët; pastaj erdhën të gjithë dhe kardinali Parolin na kërkoi të luteshim dhe bashkë recituam rruzaren. U ndjeva me fat dhe tani mund të them që isha me të vërtetë. Atë mëngjes i dhashë një përkëdhelje si lamtumirë”.
Kur u përzgjodhët?
“Për herë të parë e takova në 2018, ishte një emocion i madh. Unë isha konsulent kirurg i Selisë së Shenjtë dhe ai na ftoi të merrnim pjesë në një meshë në Santa Marta. Ishte si një famullitar, predikonte dhe pastaj në fund të meshës dilte nga kisha dhe përshëndeste të gjithë një nga një. Dy vjet më vonë filloi të kishte probleme me barkun, kishte dhimbje të forta abdominale dhe cilësia e jetës së tij, me të gjitha angazhimet që kishte, nuk ishte optimale. Bëri analizat, dëgjoi disa mjekë. Kishte një sëmundje të rëndë divertikulare. Një ditë Strappetti më solli skanerin. Ndoshta Papa ishte i informuar që kisha përvojën më të madhe në Itali për operacionet e kirurgjisë kolorektale dhe vendosi të operohej nga unë”.
Dhe ju i këshilluat ndërhyrjen?
“Thashë që gjendja ishte serioze, por duhej ta vizitoja. Një ditë më kërkuan të shkoja në ambulancën në Vatikan dhe pas rreth 2 orësh takova Papën që po largohej me makinë. Më pa dhe më tha: “E ke parë skanerin tim? Mirë, faleminderit”. Dhe iku. Ajo ishte vizita. Më thirrën pas disa ditësh dhe shkova në Santa Marta. Më tha: “Kam vendosur të operohem dhe iu kam zgjedhur ju”. E vizitova dhe ndjeva gjithë përgjegjësinë. “Të shohim agjendën. Ku do të më operoni?”. Kisha ndjesinë e qartë që donte të shkonte kudo, në çdo spital që do të zgjidhja, por i thashë, këtë herë shumë prerë, që nëse donte të operohej nga unë, nuk kishte mundësi tjetër veçse spitali Gemelli. E pranoi, por me kushtet e tij: “Do të vij të dielën pas Engjëllit. Nuk duhet ta dijë askush. Nëse lajmi del, nuk operohem më””.
Dhe a arritët ta mbani sekretin?
“Po! Versioni zyrtar ishte se po vinte një kryetar shteti i huaj që kërkonte konfidencialitet maksimal. Ai specifikoi që çdo vendim në vend të tij duhet ta merrte Strappetti. Dhe pastaj ndodhi diçka që vetëm tani mund ta zbuloj”.
Çfarë ndodhi?
“Pak minuta para ndërhyrjes, Strappetti më tha që Papa donte të më shihte. Hyra në dhomën e tij dhe ai më bekoi duart. Ishte një emocion i jashtëzakonshëm, kuptimin e mora vetëm më vonë. Ai donte të më thoshte: përdor duart e tua për punën tënde, por përdori duart me zemër në vitet që vijnë. Si të thoshte, je katolik, por tani ke diçka më shumë. Ishte një sekret mes nesh të treve, ai donte që të bëhej i ditur dhe tani mund ta them”.
Ishit miq?
"We could say that we were connected by a deep appreciation. On that occasion, we stayed in isolation for a week. There were complications, but on the third day he decided to offer us pizza. He sat at the head of the table, and eating at the table with him is another privilege that life gave me."
What others?
"A few months later he told me that he did not want the Fatebenefratelli hospital on the Tiber Island in Rome to be sold and become a non-Catholic hospital. He asked me for help. We did it according to his wishes. It was a very busy year because the hospital had been sold, only the last signature was missing. He organized a meeting in Santa Marta and said: "Now let's try to be concrete, don't do like in Mina's song that says 'Words, words, words'." There were 200 million euros in debt. With two phone calls, one to Cardinal Zuppi, he managed to secure the necessary funds. The other half was given by the knight Del Vecchio without asking for anything in return. The Pope said: "It was divine providence, this desire came from within me." In the end, I organized a meeting for him with the knight Del Vecchio, and it was very touching because they were two old men who understood each other immediately and who had saved a hospital that was a symbol of the city."
Then there was the second intervention.
"Even in that case, everything was secret. After the first operation, when he was returning home, he came out to emphasize the importance of public health and the importance of preserving Catholic hospitals with a specific mission. He showed it by returning to Gemelli."
Now you will take care of the embryos?
"Well, not only that. I am primarily an abdominal oncological surgeon. I will do it together with the Minister of Health, Schillaci, as the Pope wanted, and hopefully with the Vatican. We will see."
During the last hospitalization, did you ever think that the Pope wouldn't make it?
"Yes, the procedures were prepared overnight and then carried out on Monday. We feared the worst, but he surprised us all. We knew he wanted to come home to be Pope until the very last moment. And he did not disappoint us."
Lini një Përgjigje