Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Pope readmitted to hospital for emergency tracheotomy By VICTOR L. SIMPSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS VATICAN CITY — Pope John Paul II underwent a successful operation Thursday night to insert a tube in his throat to relieve his breathing problems, hours after he was rushed back to the hospital for the second time in a month with flu-like symptoms of fever and congestion, the Vatican said. The pontiff was conscious in his hospital room after the tracheotomy, breathing with the help of a respirator, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. A top aide to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who visited the pope said John Paul was “serene” after waking up from the anesthesia. The pope raised his hand and attempted to speak with doctors but was told not to try, Cabinet Undersecretary Gianni Letta told reporters at Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital in Rome. Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the tracheotomy lasted 30 minutes and that the outcome was “positive. The pope had approved the procedure, which the Vatican characterized as elective — underscoring that it was not done as an emergency measure. The frail, 84-year-old pontiff, who was taken to the hospital shordy before 11 a.m. in an ambulance, was to spend the night in his hospital room, Navarro Vails said. But the tracheotomy may require a longer hospital stay and have serious consequences for the pope’s abilities to carry out his duties since he will not be able to speak, at least initially, while the breathing tubeas in his throat. Before the tracheotomy, outside medical experts had said John Paul may have pneumonia. However, Navarro-Valls’ statement made no reference to pneumonia, saying the pope suffered a narrowing of his larynx. President Bush, flying home from a European trip, said in a statement: “On behalf of all Americans, Laura and I send our heartfelt best wishes to Pope John Paul II. The Holy Father is in our thoughts and prayers and we wish him a speedy recovery and return to the service of his church and of all humanity.” i ne pope s suaaen turn tor tne worse alarmed the faithful from Nigeria to the Philippines to St. Peter’s Square, and raised more doubts about his ability to carry on. “We have prayed for the pope to live as long as possible so we can still share our joy with him,” said Zofia Gebala, a 73-year-old retiree, as she left a church in Wadowice, the pope’s birthplace in southern Poland. “We are praying for him every day, for his well-being. But it’s all in God’s hands now.” John Paul, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, had greeted pilgrims twice at the window of his studio at St. Peter’s Square since his release from the same hospital on Feb. 10. On Wednesday, he made his longest public appearance — 30 minutes — since he fell ill more than three weeks ago. With each successive appearance, he seemed a little stronger, a little more alert, and his voice rang out with greater clarity. That made Thursday’s reversal all the more shocking for the faithful. DOMENICO STINELLIS/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS People pray during a Mass in the Polish St. Stanislaw church in Rome. After signs of a strong rebound, Pope John Paul II relapsed Thursday. He was rushed to the hospital for a tracheotomy. “We are so scared because he has been sick in the past,” said Vanessa Animo Bono, 32, a Catholic being treated at Gemelli. “He is one of the few popes who is actually able to listen to people.” Papal officials played down the seriousness of the hospitalization, saying a patient of the pope’s age is always at risk from the flu. Vatican aides said the pope had a fever and congestion in addition to the breathing problems. ANSA reported the pope was conscious when he arrived at Gemelli and that he was sitting upright in a stretcher. According to the report, people who saw him enter the hospital said his face looked “quite relaxed.” Before the operation, the pope was well enough to joke with his medical team, Letta said. When doctors told the pope that the operation would De a small one, the pontiff retorted: “Small, it depends for whom,” he said, citing doctors’ accounts. Earlier Thursday, Vatican officials had said the pope suffered from a “syndrome of influenza.” Chile’s ambassador to the Holy See, Maximo Pacheco, told The Associated Press that the pope suffered a “bad relapse,” citing a conversation he had with the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano. But outside experts said people don’t get a relapse of influenza itself. Instead, flu can lead to a bacterial infection such as pneumonia or bronchitis, which is an inflammation of the tubes that carry air into the lungs, or to congestive heart failure, a treatable condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. Thursday’s hospitalization was the pope’s eighth since his election in 1978. The pope’s common touch and his willingness to travel to remote places, despite serious health problems that include knee and hip ailments, make him much loved among Catholics. As with the previous hospitalization, which lasted 10 days, the latest was certain to fuel speculation about whether he could continue as pope, and what would happen if he was incapacitated. In the clearest sign that the Vatican may be taking the eventuality of papal resignation seriously, Vatican No. 2 Cardinal Angelo Sodano declined to rule out the possibility during John Paul’s first hospitalization this month, saying it was up to the pope’s conscience. Thursday’s news spread quickly, with the pope’s illness flashed on television just as news shows were ending in the Philippines. Church officials relayed a prayer request to the faithful by text message on their cell phones. Brigid Nolan, 73, saw the news on television in Dublin, Ireland, and walked to St. Columba’s church. She lit a candle and offered a five minute prayer for the pope and her own struggle with Parkinson’s. “I do draw inspiration from his own fight for life,” she said. “He is suffering, but he’s surviving, and more power to him. I get angry when people say he should quit. He should keep going for every minute God gives him.” Tourists and pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square expressed alarm. “I’m sure he wants to return to the Vatican because he has spent so much time there,” said Ornella Lisandrello, 29, an Italian physician. “I’m sure he would like to die at the Vatican.” In the pope’s hometown of Wadowice, worshippers offered prayers at St. Mary’s church, where the young Karol Wojtyla was baptized. “This is a very emotional moment for me,” said Zdzislaw Szczur. “His suffering really moves me. It’s all God’s providence now.” ■ CHEATING Continued from page 1 “We want students more specifically to be aware of what cheating is,” Dulin said. “Another issue is that we want to increase awareness of USC’s policy of cheating in the hopes that if they know the consequences, they are less likely to commit the offenses.” The student team gave faculty members pointers on how to combat cheating in their classrooms. They advised instructors to give their students original assignments, rather than generic ones that can easily be found on the Internet, and to prohibit electronic devices during exams. The team proposed a new USC grading scale in which students caught cheating would receive failing grades in their classes and “X” marks on their transcripts. “I think it is absolutely ridiculous. I think the “F” is enough punishment,” said Sara Sullivan, a second-year political science student. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gwm.sc. edu _ ■ RHA Continued from page 1 constituents, and we do them a disservice when we pass the money on to someone we did not elect.” RHA representative Whit Ashley said students should not have to bear the burden for their RAs. “Fundamentally, I don’t think we need to increase student fees on any end,” Ashley said. “Whether it is RHA or Board of Trustees, 1 don’t agree that we need to pay more money.” Ashley said he believes RAs have been put in a difficult position with directives that force them to hold programs for students lacking the necessary funding. “I would be more than happy to provide for funding to put on programs,” Ashley said. “But I think there should be a certain amount of money ear-marked for that.” Hark said he had received numerous emails from angry RAs, but could not sympathize with them. “There is an idea among many of them that our money is theirs and that is false,” Hark said. Because of the need for a separate account for RA use, Hark said the legislation will probably be revisited, in a different form, next Tuesday. “In the unlikely event this were to pass, I am not sure I would sign off on it,” Hark said. “I would even consider a veto, because I am not sure that is what residents would want.” The timing, Hark said, is critical for the assessment of new fees for the fall semester. “If we were going to assess fees, then this is time to do it, before the terms ends,” Hark said. Comments on this story? E-mail gamewcknervs@gwm.se. edu ■ DEAN Continued from page 1 developing teachers, we also conduct impactful research.” To achieve better research and more classroom instruction, Sternberg said hiring more faculty members is essential but problematic. “We can have mote faculty, but we are literally running out of office space,” Sternberg Said. “It would be a real challenge in terms of where to place that faculty.” The need for space is so pressing, Sternberg said, that some of the undergraduate students are helping create mote office space by taking classes in local public schools. He also said the college is seeking donors. “We need a new building, but unless I can find someone who embraces education and gives me $20 million, then it won’t happen,” Sternberg said. “But no one has come to me and said that.” Although the college has seen a surge in attendance, Sternberg said more students are needed to fill demands for teachers. With South Carolina ranked as one of lowest states in education nationwide, Sternberg said there might be local problems. “A lot of this is cultural in South Carolina, and there is a big debate as to how important education is,” Sternberg said. “It is not as high on the totem pole here.” Sternberg said the biggest “South Carolina has lots of teachers, about 40,000, and we would like to think that we are supplying them with the needed skills.” EDWIN DICKEY INSTRUCTION AND TEACHER DEPARTMENT HEAD challenge for the school is to increase funding. “It has happened at the business school and public health, but people believe in that, and that is something that has to change in South Carolina,” he said. Sternberg said the Department of Instruction and Teacher Education was helping to change South Carolina’s priorities. “South Carolina has lots of teachers, about 40,000, and we would like to think that we are supplying them with the needed skills,” department head Edwin Dickey said. “Teachers are continued to their education and the bulk of what we do is beginning to deal with assessing what the students want to do.” Sternberg said the future goals of the college will be to deliver distance education, find a new building and become a premiere institution of education research. Dickey said he feels comfortable with the vision of his dean. “He has to have a vision for what he wants us to be,” Dickey said. “What you are looking for in a dean is to find someone who can balance all those needs and the dean does that.” However, little space is available for expanded academia or research at USC, Sternberg said he sees a bright future for South Carolina’s leading producer of teachers. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@guxm.sc.edu If not, Winter Smo(c&tj Jaz-zbah fCileotj Silv'er&reen All Otood CaWzo^ Jo$h 5on/er$