Her Fever Gone, Heart Is Erratic : Mother Teresa’s Condition ‘Serious but Not Critical’

Doctors treating Mother Teresa described her condition Tuesday as “serious but not critical,” adding that the 79-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner is likely to remain in the hospital for “a minimum of four to six weeks.”

The fever that posed an imminent threat to Mother Teresa’s life last week has finally gone, the doctors said, but her heart remains erratic and the internationally acclaimed Roman Catholic nun continues to have chest pains.

“It’s an old heart,” declared Dr. Rajin Watts, Mother Teresa’s personal physician for the past 25 years. “And she has battered it around quite a bit, that’s for sure. The problem still remains of the pain in the chest. And we are rather concerned about that, anxious about it, really.”

Tuesday’s account of Mother Teresa’s health came during a news conference that provided the first detailed information about her precise condition since the ailing Mother Superior was admitted to Calcutta’s private Woodland’s Nursing Home on Sept. 5, suffering from a severe viral infection and subsequent heart failure.

Prognosis Is Upbeat

In general, the doctors’ prognosis was upbeat. Dr. George Lombardi, a New York City specialist in infectious diseases who rushed to Calcutta 10 days ago, is returning home today, and the doctors said that the infection that sent Mother Teresa’s temperature soaring to 104 degrees last week is gone.

The doctors conceded that the infection had been caused by a pacemaker device installed as a safety measure for the nun’s weak heart, but they added that such infections are not uncommon.

The quality of Mother Teresa’s care has been the source of widespread concern here in Calcutta, where the nun, born in Yugoslavia of Albanian parents, started her Missionaries of Charity order four decades ago and where she is now revered as a living saint.

The doctors said that Mother Teresa insisted she not be moved from Calcutta, regardless of her condition, and all agreed that she is not only receiving the best of care but that her condition is improving.

“Angina pain is serious, but not critical,” Watts told reporters. “She is comfortable. She’s eating. She’s conscious. She’s talking. She’s smiling.”

But Watts stressed that his patient is nowhere near recovered and that any public appearance or interview is out of the question.

“She is serious, not critical,” he said. “Please do not exaggerate that statement, but don’t underplay it also.”

Asked whether Mother Teresa ever will be able to resume her breakneck schedule, which traditionally has included regular visits to all 66 countries where her order now maintains orphanages, clinics, hospices, refugee centers and homes for the destitute, Watts was not encouraging.

“Certainly, for the time being, it’s out of the question,” he said. “But I wouldn’t play that up too much, because she could get pretty depressed about it.”