Football Icon's Daughter Reassures Fans of Her Father's Health
She told the news channel that her father was not in the intensive care unit, but in a regular ward
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Brazilian football superstar Pele’s daughters told his fans Sunday that their father’s health was not at serious risk, saying they are confident he will return home when he recovers from a respiratory infection.
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The 82-year-old has been hospitalized in Sao Paulo since Tuesday amid ongoing treatments for colon cancer, which was first diagnosed in September 2021.
Pele “is sick, he is elderly, but at this point, he is hospitalized for a lung infection," Kely Arantes Nascimento told the TV channel Globo.
“And when he gets better, he’ll come home," she said.
“We are not saying goodbye in the hospital," she insisted, explaining that the respiratory illness was the result of a Covid-19 infection the sporting icon had contracted three weeks ago.
Her sister, Flavia Arantes Nascimento, denied reports from the daily Folha de S.Paulo and ESPN Brazil that Pele was no longer responding to chemotherapy and was now receiving only “palliative care."
She told the news channel that her father was not in the intensive care unit, but a regular ward, that the family was “tired of receiving condolences" and that the cancer treatment is “delivering results."
“It’s unfair that they’re saying he’s at the terminal stage. It’s not that, believe us," she said.
Earlier Sunday, fans of Pele — born Edson Arantes do Nascimento — congregated outside the Sao Paulo hospital where the three-time world champion is staying.
Cadena de oración en la puerta del hospital donde está internado O Rei Pelé.
— VarskySports (@VarskySports) December 4, 2022
📹 @sportpic.twitter.com/m5nDHjBRw1
More than 100 devotees prayed for the recovery of the man widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all time.
“We are a spiritual force" praying for the sporting idol as he wages “one of the toughest battles of his life," one fan, Marcos Bispo dos Santos, told AFP.
Doctors at Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein Hospital said Saturday that Pele remained “stable."
Pele “has had a good response to care without any worsening in the clinical picture in the last 24 hours," they said in a statement.
The star later struck an optimistic note in an Instagram post, saying, “My friends, I want to keep everyone calm and positive. I’m strong, with a lot of hope and I follow my treatment as usual."
On Sunday, his fans stood mostly in silence outside the clinic in the Morumbi neighborhood of western Sao Paulo, holding a banner bearing an image of a youthful Pele and marked “Torcida Joven" (“Young Fans").
“Long live the king!" said several posters pasted on walls near entrances to the hospital.
Around noon, the fans formed a circle and held hands as they recited an “Our Father."
Pelé's message
In a statement released on Saturday, Brazilian icon and former national team star, Pelé, said messages of support as well as watching Brazil at the World Cup had given him "energy."
Pelé's words came after an unsettling scenario, which began when it was announced that he had been moved to 'end-of-life' due to the fact that he had stopped responding to chemotherapy treatment. Fans were then relieved to learn that his situation had improved, when the hospital released a statement indicating that he was "still undergoing treatment and remains stable."
"My friends, I want to keep everyone calm and positive," he said in a statement on Instagram. "I'm strong, with a lot of hope and I follow my treatment as usual. I want to thank the entire medical and nursing team for all the care I have received."
"I have a lot of faith in God and every message of love I receive from you all over the world keeps me full of energy. And watching Brazil in the World Cup too!
Pelé gives an update on his health. pic.twitter.com/fyzFYrAcEz
— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 3, 2022