Norway’s crown princess on lung transplant waiting list, palace says
Norway’s royal family said that Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been placed on the waiting list for a lung transplant.
It was stated that Mette-Marit, who suffered from an incurable lung disease, suspended her official duties and would perform the surgery as soon as a donor was found.
While the princess, who married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, struggles with the disease, she also faces the facts about her relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the rape case of Marius Borg Høiby, her son from a previous relationship.
According to reports in the Norwegian press, Høiby, who denied the accusations, requested release from custody due to his mother being seriously ill.
Mette-Marit, 52, was diagnosed in 2018 with a rare type of pulmonary fibrosis that causes breathing difficulties and forms scar tissue that hardens the lungs, making it difficult to breathe and for oxygen to enter the bloodstream. He repeatedly forced her to take sick leave or reduce her official duties.
In December, Mette-Marit told public broadcaster NRK: that his disease developed “faster than I expected”” and said that activities she enjoyed with her husband, such as hiking and skiing, were no longer possible.
The royal family quoted Prof Are Holm, a lung specialist at Oslo University Hospital, as saying his condition had worsened significantly over the past six months.
“We can see a significant increase in scar tissue in his lungs over the last year, and lung function tests show that his lung function has decreased significantly in just the last three months,” Holm told reporters at a news conference Friday. he said.
He said the deterioration was “dangerous” and that’s why he was put on the transplant list.
A successful transplant depends on several factors, including finding the right match and ensuring the body does not reject the new organ once it is implanted.
Holm explained that the process is seen as a last resort and that individuals must be considered significantly ill and have a limited life expectancy in order for lung transplantation to be deemed appropriate.
But patients still need to be well enough to handle such a major procedure.
Meanwhile, his 29-year-old son Høiby remains in custody awaiting the verdict at his trial, which will be announced in the next few weeks.
He denied the most serious charges against him – four rapes and serious assault – but admitted some less serious offences. As the stepson of the heir to the Norwegian throne, he holds no royal title or official duties.
The start of his trial took place just days after the documents were published in the United States. Mette-Marit’s dealings with disgraced financier Epstein.
The princess told national television in March that she wished she had never met Epstein.
HE He had previously apologized and admitted he “made a bad decision””, after the extent and frequency of his contact with her were revealed when millions of documents related to the investigation into the late sex offender were released by the US justice department in January.
