Doctors Happy With Pope’s Recovery Pontiff Reports Just Minor Pain; Messages Flood Vatican, Hospital

Roses, recipes and warm wishes poured in Wednesday for Pope John Paul II, who was feeling just a bit of pain and pleasing doctors with his recovery the day after surgery to remove an inflamed appendix.

John Paul even took a few steps, sat in an armchair and sipped tea, his doctors said.

Dr. Corrado Manni, chief anesthesiologist at Gemelli Polyclinic, where the pope has been hospitalized since Sunday, said the pontiff’s condition was “excellent, above the average” for a 76-year-old man with health problems.

The pope has had six operations since he was shot in the stomach by a would-be assassin in 1981.

His surgery Tuesday also confirmed that a benign bowel tumor removed in 1992 hadn’t returned. Results of a routine biopsy were reported to be negative.

The pope’s doctors “found him in excellent condition, not only physically, but also in terms of state of mind, tranquil and calm,” Manni told The Associated Press.

“He had a nice chat” with the doctors, Manni said. “We asked him if he felt any pain. ‘I had a small amount of pain at the operation site, but just when I coughed,’ he told us.”

Delivery men brought in flowers, including long-stemmed red roses from a convent in Rome.

Limousines rolled up outside the hospital to deposit diplomats and other VIPs who wanted to wish the pope well. They included U.N. Secretary-General Boutros BoutrosGhali, the Dalai Lama and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, who presides over the world’s Orthodox churches.

The Vatican said it received a flood of telegrams, letters, faxes and e-mail.

One woman suggested an asparagus diet could help patients with appendix problems.