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Image via Prince on Twitter
Last month when it was reported that Prince had passed away, the news came as a serious shock to the entire world. Weeks later, details continue to pour in as the public yearns for answers.
The latest update to this tragic story is that Prince was reportedly seeking help for an apparent painkiller addiction just days before his death. According to The Minneapolis Star Tribune, Prince was actually scheduled to meet with addiction specialist Dr. Howard Kornfeld on April 20—the day before he passed. Minneapolis-based attorney William Mauzy claims that Kornfeld, a national authority on opioid addiction treatment, was initially contacted because Prince “was dealing with a grave medical emergency.”
Unfortunately, Kornfeld could not clear his schedule in time to make it from California to Minneapolis before April 22, so he sent his son Andrew Kornfeld—who works with him—instead. Andrew Kornfeld was expected to simply evaluate Prince’s health in order to work out the best treatment plan.
However, when he arrived, staff members could not locate Prince on his estate—which ultimately led to the discovery of his unresponsive body in the elevator. Andrew Kornfeld was later identified as the first 911 caller to report the news of Prince’s death to Minneapolis police.
Prince had been rushed to the hospital just a week before his death. He was given Narcan—a drug used to treat narcotic overdoses in an emergency situations—and reportedly left the hospital against the doctors’ advice. Unfortunately, it’s not certain how differently this situation may have played out if Prince and Dr. Kornfeld had been able to meet.
