Shocked wife

Heinz Hoenig had to be resuscitated

Annika Kärsten-Hoenig lovingly cares for her husband.(Bild: Annika Hoenig)

Annika Kärsten-Hoenig has revealed that her husband, the seriously ill movie star Heinz Hoenig, recently had to be resuscitated in intensive care.

When she visited her husband's bedside on July 20, she "discovered a defibrillator pad on his chest", she told the magazine "Bunte". She was shocked. "The doctors then told me that they had to resuscitate my husband that night."

Fortunately, Hoenig is now making progress. The actor is "no longer receiving oral ventilation", she told the magazine, but "can breathe independently via the tracheostoma". However, he still has to get used to this.

Annika Kärsten-Hoenig lovingly cares for her husband.(Bild: Annika Hoenig)

The family hopes that Heinz will soon be able to manage completely without ventilation so that he can undergo vital heart surgery. A tracheostoma is an access to the windpipe where a cannula keeps an incision open so that the patient breathes directly into the windpipe.

Still in the jungle camp in January
Hoenig starred in the 1980s hit "Das Boot". He is also known for his roles in director Dieter Wedel's TV multi-part series from the 1990s ("Der große Bellheim", "Der Schattenmann", "Der König von St. Pauli").

In January, he took part in the RTL jungle camp as a candidate before he had to be admitted to hospital in May with acute heart problems. Since then, his family has feared for his life, as several operations were necessary.

First of all, a tear in his oesophagus was repaired in an operation lasting several hours. There were problems with his health insurance, which is why his management and wife set up a fundraising page to pay for Hoenig's necessary treatment. Celebrities such as Til Schweiger also donated for their colleague.