Family members, colleagues and fans have been fearing for actor Heinz Hoenig’s life for days. The 72-year-old had to be flown by helicopter to a Berlin clinic at the beginning of this week and put into an artificial coma. His wife Annika Kärsten-Hoenig, herself a trained nurse, is now describing in an interview how the dramatic development came about – and that everything is much more serious than previously assumed.
“The problem is, it’s not directly the heart. It affects the entire aorta. The matter is quite complicated (…). Heinz has an inflammation in the body that has spread to the entire aorta. Heinz had a heart in 2012 -Surgery in which he had a stent placed. Now, due to the bacterial inflammation, it is damaged and blood and fluid have leaked out of the stent. A new stent was placed two days ago. But that doesn’t last long. “His entire aorta has to be replaced. That is of course associated with a high risk,” says the 39-year-old in an interview with the “Bild” newspaper.
In the RTL program “Exclusiv Weekend” Annika Kärsten-Hoenig reports that the situation has continued to worsen. “The bacterial infection has caused a hole in his esophagus. If my husband can have surgery, then the esophagus will have to be externalized. That means if he survives the operation, he won’t be able to eat or drink anything for at least nine months. He has to then be fed artificially.”
Heinz and Annika Hoenig live with their two young sons in Blankenburg in the Harz Mountains. The actor initially received treatment there because he had a gastrointestinal infection and was losing a lot of fluid. “After a few days he was discharged, but shortly afterwards he complained of pain in his upper abdomen and was returned to the hospital. A doctor then used a CT scan to identify the problem with his aorta, and the question arose: how can he be helped? And above all: where?” says Annika Kärsten-Hoenig.
The actor’s condition deteriorated so much that he had to be put into an artificial coma. Finally, a hospital in Berlin agreed to accept Heinz Hoenig. Because the 72-year-old has no health insurance. As an artist, he had to pay high premiums for private insurance for years. But at some point he was no longer able to raise the sums – also because the orders became fewer and he slipped into personal bankruptcy. The insurance company terminated him. “From 2021, I tried everything to get Heinz into some health insurance company. But if you are over 55 and had private insurance, no statutory health insurance company will take you anymore,” explains his wife.
To save the actor’s life, Heinz Hoenig urgently needs another operation. It is currently unclear when this will take place. “The doctors can’t say exactly at the moment, it depends on his physical condition. Whether he is stable enough and his values are right. These fluctuate from day to day. It’s all like a roller coaster ride,” says Annika Kärsten-Hoenig . The complicated procedure would take around ten hours and cost at least 100,000 euros. The family also wants to raise the money with the help of an initiative that was launched on the “gofundme” platform; fans and colleagues of Hoenig can donate. “This overwhelming public sympathy leaves me very speechless,” says Annika Kärsten-Hoenig. But she also says: “In the intensive care unit they explained to me that without this operation my husband only has a one percent chance of survival.”
Sources: “Bild” newspaper (paid content), RTL
Transparency note: The star is part of RTL Deutschland
