Pope Faces Serious Health Concerns
Some in the Holy See are beginning to openly discuss concerns about Francis' condition and asking if the Holy Father is overtaxing himself.
As a young boy in Argentina, before the advent of advanced antibiotics, the Pope suffered an infection which led surgeons to remove most of one lung.
He has appeared to cope with that well through the years, but recently the Pope has canceled a number of papal appointments, citing health reasons.
Some close to the Pope have said they notice he has difficulty breathing, and during the 14 months of his papacy has gained a significant amount of weight, perhaps as much as 20 pounds.
"It's a very serious condition," Dr. Peter Hibberd told Newsmax in discussing the Pope's single lung.
"If you are 20 years old and have one lung, you wouldn't notice it because all humans have a large reserve capacity in their lungs," said Hibberd, a 30-year hospital and emergency medicine specialist who writes for Newsmaxhealth.com.
Hibberd noted that as they age, people "lose lung function," which in turn makes the extra or "reserve" capacity of the lung more critical in keeping the blood well oxygenated while allowing the body to exchange gases.
"His repeated fatigue reports and weight gain suggest he may be slipping into a form of chronic heart failure common among victims of significant lung disorders such as COPD," Hibberd suggested.
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