Pele’s cancer is “progressing” and the Brazilian soccer legend needs “greater care” due to “kidney and heart failure,” the Sao Paulo hospital where his daughters were preparing to spend Christmas with him announced on Wednesday.
• Also read: Pele is hospitalized but not to worry, he reassures his daughter
“King” Pele, 82, was admitted to Albert Einstein Hospital on November 29 to have his chemotherapy re-evaluated after a colon polyp was discovered in September 2021.
“The patient has progression of the disease and needs more comprehensive care for renal and heart failure,” the doctors explain in their health bulletin.
The Brazilian remains in the hospital “in a regular room, where he receives the necessary care,” continues the Foundation.
A few minutes before this press release was published, two of Pele’s daughters, Kelly Nascimento and Flavia Arantes, announced on their Instagram accounts that their father would be spending Christmas in the hospital.
“Christmas is over at home. We have decided with the doctors that, for various reasons, it is best to stay here, with all the care that our new family (Albert Hospital) Einstein has to offer,” can we read in this letter, captioned with a picture of two very smiling sisters.
They wanted to be upbeat, promising a festive atmosphere in a hospital room.
“We’re going to turn this room into a sambadrome (it’s a joke) and we’re even going to make caipirinhas (it’s not a joke),” they continued, citing the famous Brazilian cocktail made with lemon and cane alcohol.
The two young women have published several messages on social media in recent weeks to reassure Pele fans around the world, after Brazilian media reported that his health had deteriorated.
They added, “As always, we thank you for the affection you send us, from all parts of Brazil and from all parts of the world.”
On Sunday, Kelly Nascimento posted a picture of his sister Flavia massaging her father’s left foot while he watched the World Cup final on TV. Pele’s face is not shown in the photo.
Screenshot / Instagram
After the match, he congratulated the Argentine triple world champion, Lionel Messi, on his “deserved” coronation against France.
“Congratulations Argentina! Diego (Maradona, died November 25, 2020, editor’s note) is definitely smiling at the moment,” Pele wrote on Instagram.
During this World Cup, he saw Neymar equal his record of goals with the Seleção (77).
The player considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time has received many messages of support since his hospitalization, notably from French cracker Kylian Mbappe, who called for “prayers for the king”.
Along with Mbappe, Pele made his last public appearance, in April 2019, in Paris, for a promotional event with a joint sponsor.
He had to be admitted to the American Hospital in Neuilly (a western suburb of Paris) for a severe urinary tract infection, before he went straight to the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo upon his return.
At the end of 2014, Pele had already suffered from a serious urinary tract infection and was placed in intensive care and on dialysis.
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