Fans went today (4th) to the door of Albert Einstein Hospital, in Morumbi, west of São Paulo, to express their solidarity with former player Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé. The vigil was called by the young fans of Santos, the team in which Pelé started his career. The group took a banner with an image of the former player when he was young and pasted messages of support on the railing in the hospital garden.
Some residents of the neighborhood also joined the act, such as retired Ciro Estivale dos Santos, who was accompanied by his two daughters: Manoela, 7 years old, and Rafaela, 11. According to him, the idea of going to the tribute was his oldest daughter. “He brought so much joy to us. So, now, it’s a little bit of us for him. Hope for his speedy recovery, so that he gets well, that he manages to score another goal in his life”.
Ciro says that he got to see Pelé play at the height of his career. “My father was from Santos. I always went to the stadium, I always followed him. I saw him at his peak, several goals in Morumbi, Pacaembu, in Vila Belmiro”, he said.
Also a resident of the region, Macos Bispo dos Santos was emotional at the hospital door. He says he was born in Santos, where he started his career in the financial market at Banco Nacional, where Pelé and the other Santos players had bank accounts. According to Marcos, when players needed assistance at the institution, they ended up attracting all attention.
“It was a party. At that time I was a simple employee. For us it was a party, being [com ele] not only in the field, which I carried since I was a child, [mas também] as an adult being with him at the bank you work at. It was an unbelievable feeling. He would go to the bank managers’ table and there would be that crowd [em volta]?? The agency stopped,” he recalls.
Treatment
Pelé was admitted to the Albert Einstein on Tuesday (29) for a reassessment of the chemotherapy treatment of the colon tumor, identified in September 2021. The tumor was removed on September 4, 2021. Since then, Pelé has undergone a chemotherapy treatment, with regular visits to the hospital.
According to the medical bulletin released yesterday (3), the former player has had a good response to care for the respiratory infection, “not presenting any worsening in the condition in the last 24 hours”.
On his Instagram account, Pelé said he was doing his treatment “as usual”. “My friends, I want to keep everyone calm and with positive thinking. I’m strong, with a lot of hope and I follow my treatment as always. I want to thank all the medical and nursing staff, for all the care I’ve received”, wrote the former 82 year old player.
