Dr. Sergio Alfieri explained that the 88-year-old pope and those around him were aware of the grim possibility that he might not make it through the night, following the bronchospasm episode where he inhaled vomit.

“We were at a crossroads: either stop intervention and let nature take its course or pursue an aggressive treatment with substantial risk to other organs,” Alfieri revealed to the Milan daily Corriere della Sera.

Alfieri noted that the pope stayed “alert” during the harrowing episode and that his personal health aide, Massimiliano Strappetti, who is intimately familiar with the pope’s wishes, advocated for trying all possible measures, insisting an effort be made to “try everything. Don’t give up.”

Alfieri acknowledged that the treatment risked damaging the pope’s kidneys and bone marrow, “but we continued, and his body responded to the treatments and the lung infection improved.”

The medical bulletin that night said that the pope had suffered a bronchiospasm so severe that he inhaled vomit “worsening his respiratory picture.” Doctors used a non-invasive aspiration to clear his airways.

Three days later, in a second life-and-death crisis, the pope suffered a pair of acute bronchiospasms episodes.

Doctors used a camera tube with a device to remove mucus plugs that yielded abundant secretions. The bulletin emphasised that the pope “always remained alert, oriented and collaborative.”

Alfieri said he believed that prayers for the pope help keep him alive, something that the doctor said is backed by scientific literature.

“In this case the whole world was praying. I can say that twice the situation was lost, and then it happened like a miracle,” the doctor said, adding that “of course he was a very cooperative patient.”