150,000 euros needed
Donation target for Heinz Hoenig is increased
May 7, 2024, 11:41 a.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
Actor Heinz Hoenig is fighting for his life. But the 72-year-old cannot afford the life-saving operations. A call for donations should help. Because Hoenig’s condition is even worse than originally thought, the amount now has to be increased.
Heinz Hoenig is currently in the intensive care unit of a Berlin hospital. After an emergency operation a few days ago, his doctors put the 72-year-old into a coma, from which he is slowly being woken up. As soon as the actor is clear enough, he has to make a decision that is vital to his survival: does he risk risky interventions – or does he want to die. A decision that Hoenig’s wife Annika Kärsten-Hoenig did not want to make alone, despite her living will.
A bacterial infection damaged a stent on Hoenig’s heart that was inserted in 2012. According to Kärsten-Hoenig, her husband’s aorta had to be replaced. The 72-year-old also had a hole discovered in his esophagus.
Making matters worse is that Hoenig doesn’t have health insurance and can’t afford the surgeries that could potentially save his life. Therefore it was a “Go Fund Me” fundraising page for the star, who became known, among other things, for the film “Das Boot”. Initially, 80,000 euros were to be collected there for Hoenig’s treatments. But the situation has now worsened because the actor not only needs a new aorta, but also a new esophagus. Not only the operations but also the aftercare will cost a lot of money. “If he survives, he will have to be fed artificially for at least nine months,” explains Annika Kärsten-Hoenig in an RTL interview.
Over 100,000 euros have already been raised. Many of Hoenig’s prominent colleagues donated, including actors Til Schweiger, Natascha Ochsenknecht and Britt Jolig. But according to the latest findings, this sum will not be enough.
Donation target increased due to “recent deterioration”.
Hoenig’s friend Ralph Siegel, who set up the donation account with his artist agency Siegelring, has now increased the target amount to 150,000 euros. On the website, the composer writes: “In view of the recent deterioration of Heinz Hoenig’s health due to a discovered hole in his esophagus, we have increased the fundraising target. The upcoming operation to correct the problem will involve significant costs. These include not only the surgical procedures themselves, but also the costs of accommodation and medical care during his recovery.”
Heinz Hoenig’s wife is very grateful to the people who donate for her “Heinzi”, but she also knows what will happen to her husband after the procedure. In the RTL interview she says: “If he is operated on, if he survives – what I wish, what I hope, what I pray for – then it will first mean months of intensive medical care.” But in an interview with RTL she is sure: “He wants to live!”