Vidal in stable condition after undergoing dialysis: Palma

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma said Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal is now in stable condition after undergoing dialysis last Saturday.

Palma told reporters that the doctors at a private hospital in Cebu City where Vidal was taken to are continuously monitoring the prelate’s condition.

“He is stable but under observation and medication. I will come and visit him again to make a followup and check which medical interventions should he undergo,” Palma said.

The 86-year-old prelate has been confined in the hospital since Wednesday last week after suffering from a variety of ailments. His doctors said he suffered from sepsis due to pneumonia.

In an earlier report, Dr. Rene Josef Bullecer, who is privy to Vidal’s health condition, said the doctors recommended the dialysis to address his kidney prob- lem, a result of his intake of medicines for many years now.

This, though, is not the first time the prelate landed in a hospital to get medical help. Since retiring in 2011, he has been plagued with health problems.

In 2013, Vidal was rushed to the hospital after suffering a mild stroke.

Palma urged everyone to keep praying for the former’s speedy recovery.

“Mangayo lang gyod ta og prayer. Siyempre sa iyang edad, sayod naman gyod ta nga any- body can be weak (Let’s continue praying),” Bullecer said.

This year, Vidal has been hospitalized five times due to serious illness. Msgr. Joseph Tan, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Cebu, told SunStar Cebu that of the five times Vidal was hospitalized this year, the worst was in May when he spent two weeks in a private hospital in Quezon Province due to pneumonia. After that, Vidal was readmitted for another two weeks after his ailment recurred. After recovering, Vidal was allowed to return to Cebu.