Prince Had Date With Addiction Doctor: Report

Doctor's son reportedly called 911
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted May 4, 2016 6:23 AM CDT
Prince Had Date With Addiction Doctor: Report
Prince appears in this Nov. 22, 2015, file photo.   (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File)

Dr. Howard Kornfeld, a nationally recognized specialist in opioid addiction, received a call on April 20 about a man suffering from a "grave" addiction to painkillers. The California doctor sent his son on a red-eye flight to see the patient in Minnesota and explain how his father's "lifesaving mission" would work until Kornfeld could depart on April 22, lawyer William Mauzy tells the Minneapolis Star Tribune. But within minutes of the younger Kornfeld's arrival at Paisley Park at 9:30am, the patient—Prince—was found unconscious in an elevator, says Mauzy, who is working with the Kornfeld family. It was Andrew Kornfeld who called 911, he adds. "The people are just distraught," Kornfeld said in the call. "We're in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and we are at the home of Prince."

Mauzy says Prince's reps called Dr. Kornfeld because of his reputation as one of the best opioid addiction specialists in the country. The medical team at his rehab clinic "works together to resolve problems that other clinicians have found difficult, if not impossible to solve," according to its website. His plan "was to quickly evaluate his health and devise a treatment plan" that would involve Prince attending rehab under Kornfeld's supervision, says Mauzy. Andrew Kornfeld was even carrying buprenorphine, which helps opioid addicts go through withdrawals, Mauzy says. Sources say painkillers were found at Prince's home and are the focus of the investigation into his death, per the Tribune. Police are examining how Prince got the pills. (Did Prince have a secret son?)

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