Pope Francis was admitted to hospital last week for the same condition that saw him fall ill in 2023, but this time he believes he won’t be so lucky, according to sources close to the veteran.
The 88-year-old has been diagnosed with pneumonia in both of his lungs following his admission to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday last week (February 14) with bronchitis – a respiratory infection.
According to Cleveland Clinic, ‘pneumonia is inflammation and fluid in your lungs caused by a bacterial, viral or fungal infection. It makes it difficult to breathe and can cause a fever and cough with yellow, green or bloody mucus’.
It also indicates that pneumonia can be life-threatening ‘if left untreated, especially if you have an underlying health condition’.
Fortunately, despite the diagnosis, it is understood he is breathing independently.
Two people allegedly clued-up on the situation told Politico that the leader of the Catholic Church has been ‘suffering from intense pain and has privately expressed certainty he won’t make it this time’.
While a third person is understood to have told the US-based publication that Francis – who was born in the Flores neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina – is acting entirely on ‘doctor’s orders’.
Pope Francis greets people at the end of the weekly general audience on February 12 – just two days before he was admitted to hospital (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)
However, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni visited the Pope on Wednesday and stressed he was in good enough health to crack jokes.
“Very happy to have found him alert and responsive. We joked as always. He hasn’t lost his proverbial sense of humour,” she explained.
A statement issued by the Vatican today (February 21), read: “The night went well, and this morning Pope Francis got up and had breakfast.”
While sources close to the Pope appear to doubt his recovery, the Vatican insisted on Wednesday that he was on the mend, adding: “The blood tests, evaluated by the medical staff, show a slight improvement, particularly in inflammatory indices.”
On Thursday (February 20), the Vatican wrote: “Pope Francis has had a restful night and this morning, got out of bed and had breakfast in an armchair.”
It isn’t the first time Francis has been hospitalized with a respiratory infection, in March 2023 he was taken into Gemelli hospital with acute bronchitis.
Following his discharge, he told the world: “I am still alive.”
Pope Francis made history when he was elected 12 years ago back in March 2013, becoming the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere – as well as the first non-European elected in nearly 1,300 years.
Alicia Silverstone’s fans are concerned for her welfare after the actress seemingly ate a toxic plant.
Silverstone is currently in the UK and took to TikTok to share a video of something she discovered while roaming the streets of what appears to be London.
In the video posted yesterday (August 19) she told her followers: “I’ve just discovered something and I can’t figure out what it is and I need your help.”
The 47-year-old went on: “I’ve just bit into it because it was on the street and we were discussing whether it was a tomato or not.”
But Silverstone went on to say that it’s ‘definitely not’ a tomato because of the plant‘s leaves that it came from as she proceeded to pan the camera round to show people.
Proceeding to take another bite out of one of the tomato-like fruits, Silverstone admitted that she didn’t think she was supposed to be eating it and described it as tasting like a pepper.
While the video was only posted a few hours ago, Silverstone’s clip has already amassed over 630,000 views at the time of writing.
Alicia Silverstone asked fans for help in working out what the plant was. (@aliciasilverstone/TikTok)
The comment section is filled with suggestions as to what the plant might be, with many saying that it’s something known as a Jerusalem cherry (also known as Solanum pseudocapsicum).
These plants that are part of the nightshade family aren’t uncommon in the UK and while they bare fruits on them, they’re not made for ingesting.
“The Jerusalem Cherry is a member of the nightshade family, a large and diverse family of plants which includes both poisonous species and food plants such as potatoes, aubergines and tomatoes,” explains The Joy Of Plants website.
“The shrub is native to Central America where the plant is so vigorous that it’s sometimes viewed as a weed.”
The actress is best known for starring in 1995 movie Clueless. (Dia Dipasupil/WireImage)
In regards to its toxicity, the website states that the berries are poisonous and people should ‘only use a Jerusalem Cherry as a decorative plant, and keep it out of the reach of small children and pets’.
With this in mind, people have expressed concerns about Silverstone’s welfare and have urged the actress to give an update to her fans so they know she’s OK.
One person wrote: “WOMAN! UPDATE US. ARE YOU ALIVE AND WELL!?!”
As a second said: “OMG NO!! Jerusalem Cherry very poisonous in the Nightshade family. Hope you are ok.”
And someone else insisted: “Is Alicia ok??? We need an update!”
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Coffee drinkers swear by its many health benefits but according to some theories, they might have been drinking the beverage wrong their whole lives.
Now, I don’t mean they should be snorting their coffee beans or something equally weird but according to some ideas, there are health benefits to be had by consuming it in a specific way.
And by a specific way, I mean at what time you choose to take your first sip.
If you have ever been in an office, you’ll likely know some of your coworkers band together by the machine on their first break trying to get their first fix, while others stroll in with their perfect order from Pret.
But PHD, dietitian and exercise physiologist specializing in disease management and prevention, Natalie Olsen, has highlighted one theory surrounding the magical ground beans.
There are a lot of claims about when is the best time to drink coffee (Getty Stock Image)
Writing in a Healthline article, she noted that there is some thinking that drinking coffee ‘too soon after rising decreases its energizing effects’.
This is all down to the hormone your body releases, cortisol. The stress hormone can enhance alertness and focus while also regulating your metabolism, immune system response, and blood pressure.
Olsen stated: “The hormone follows a rhythm specific to your sleep-wake cycle, with high levels that peak 30–45 minutes after rising and slowly decline throughout the rest of the day.
“That said, it has been suggested that the best time to drink coffee is mid- to late-morning when your cortisol level is lower.
“For most people who get up around 6:30 a.m., this time is between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m.”
So, you chugging down the caffeine at your earliest convenience might not be doing as much for your alertness as it could be.
However, it is also worth noting that Olsen did state that there have been no studies to date that ‘have observed any superior energizing effects with delaying your morning coffee, compared with drinking it immediately upon rising.’
Optimizing when you drink coffee could improve your alertness (Getty Stock Image)
So, I suppose you can do as you please. But it might be worth testing it out yourself to see if you feel any difference.
While you try and figure out when is the best time for you to have your morning brew, it might also be worth considering dropping the habit altogether.
According to some studies, while the short-term impacts of cutting out coffee can be rather grueling, the long-term impacts are quite beneficial.
In time, you’ll find your anxiety levels are lowered. This is because the less caffeine you consume, the less you’re triggering the body’s fight or flight response, the website claims.
As your body becomes less dependent on caffeine, you’ll be able to enjoy a better quality of sleep too.
A father has explained why he won’t stop kissing his son on the lips after a TikTok video sparked controversy online.
Over on the video sharing platform, UK-based Tom, who goes by @tom_leeds, hit back at followers who criticised him for kissing his son on the lips.
After pecking his five-year-old son in one video, Tom took to the platform to respond to one particular comment from a follower who slammed him over the clip.
The topic caused a debate online (Getty Stock Photo)
They wrote: “Don’t kiss your children on the lips fact!
“Because not all humans have the same intentions, do you see what I’m saying? Don’t make it acceptable.”
But Tom wasn’t having any of it and took to TikTok to hit back at the comment.
He said: “So, the logic here is if I kiss my five-year-old, he will think that he can go off and it’s okay to kiss strangers.
“So, let’s apply that logic. I can’t have him in my car anymore to take him places because he could get in a stranger’s car and think that’s normal.
“He can’t live in my house anymore because he could just walk into a stranger’s house and think that that’s normal.
“Or, we could teach him that he’s got a mummy and a daddy and kissing them is normal but kissing dodgy Barry down the road is a bit weird. Let’s do that.”
Tom hit back at the comments (TikTok/@tom_leeds)
Tom explained that he would continue kissing his son on the lips for as long as he ‘deems necessary’.
“I find it worrying that it bothers you,” he said in another video.
“I will kiss my son, my five-year-old child, on the lips for as long as I deem necessary and as long as he lets me, right, ’cause I love him to bits and he’s my best pal and one day he won’t want me to and he probably won’t want much to do with me.
“So for now, I’ll carry on as I am.”
Tom said he would carry on kissing his son on the lips (Getty Stock Photo)
Not all of the comments Tom received were negative, with many parents backing him up.
One person wrote online: “Comments like that makes me so angry!! It’s the people the write them that have the issues not the parents!”
While another commented: “I will continue to grab my 3 boys by their faces and give them big kisses. I adore my babies.”
And a third added: “Ffs!!! Folks need to grow up. From my view u are an awesome dad who loves his son.”
The musical icon has previously admitted he doesn’t know how much time he has left and now is thinking more about his mortality.
Elton John, 77, has opened up more about his ongoing difficulties, noting that his issues are impacting his ability to attend engagements.
The artist is no longer touring and has stated that traveling so much to perform does take it out of you. However, he has vowed to continue making music.
Elton has been most open about the eye issues he has been having following an infection he contracted in France earlier this year.
The music legend has written the lyrics for the new musicalThe Devil Wears Prada, and more recently, he spoke on stage about his health while also praising his husband, David Furnish, for being ‘his rock’.
He added: “I haven’t been able to come to many of the previews because, as you know, I have lost my eyesight. So, it’s hard for me to see it. But I love to hear it and boy it sounded good tonight.”
While speaking on Good Morning America last week, the music icon said his eyesight issues were delaying his next album.
Elton John recently spoke candidly about his health (Dave Benett/Getty Images for The Devil Wears Prada Musical)
He said: “I unfortunately lost my eyesight in my right eye in July because I had an infection in the south of France and it’s been four months now since I haven’t been able to see, and my left eye is not the greatest.
“So, there’s hope and encouragement that it will be OK, but… I’m kind of stuck at the moment, because I can do something like this [the interview], but going into the studio and recording, I don’t know, because I can’t see a lyric for a start.”
John has had a number of health problems over the years, including having several things removed or replaced.
Elton John has said at his age he is thinking more about life and death (Bruce Glikas/Getty Images)
In his upcoming documentary, Elton John: Never Too Late, the artist reflected on his legacy and how much time he has left before he dies.
He said: “This is the latter time of my life. I don’t know how much time I have left.
“I don’t have tonsils, adenoids or an appendix. I don’t have a prostate. I don’t have a right hip or a left knee or a right knee.
“In fact, the only thing left to me is my left hip. But I’m still here. And I can’t thank you [enough], you’re the people that made me.”
