Sometimes, when we were sitting at dinner, you could see that it makes him tired. He tried to stop the shaking of his hand, but that was no longer possible. At those times, he became annoyed and hit hard at the chair, as if he wanted to say, “Why this is happening? Why can’t I stop it?” Sometimes we saw this gesture during the general audiences. But these were sporadic situations. In those moments I was looking at him and thinking how much he had to suffer. He was always strong, always had so much energy and led such a very active life. And, now he had to get used to another, weaker self.
– But, in fact, nothing has changed in his plan for a day?
– Even though we insisted to sleep longer to read less, to limit his religious practices a little, nothing has happened. He didn’t want to hear about it. Maybe in the last year, maybe in the last two years he was getting up half an hour later. But from the plan of the day, he did not want to delete anything. And he prayed probably even more than before.
– The most difficult time started at the beginning of February…
– It was February 1st. In the afternoon, the Holy Father began to say that it hurts him when he is swallowing saliva. In the evening, the pain increased and the Holy Father was short of breath.
– To the hospital?
– At about 10 p.m., the decision was made to go to the Gemelli Clinic. After tests, it turned out that he has laryngitis and tracheitis. During the night the Holy Father lost his breath several times.
With the consent of Archbishop Mokrzycki “He liked Tuesdays the most”
M Publisher, Kraków 2008
