Is terminally ill – the prince's new words

 

Royally

 

NRK 

  

The Crown Prize opens up about Mette-Marit's incurable illness 

 

Nelly Kronstrand  

 

Updated 00.05 | Published 2023-11-02

News

 

The diagnosis prevents Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit from royal commitments.  

 

Now Crown Prince Haakon opens up about his feelings about his wife's illness. 

 

"She will not get better," he writes, reports VG.

 

Since September, the Norwegian crown princess has been on sick leave due to the disease pulmonary fibrosis.

 

In his new biography "Haakon - stories about a heir to the throne", the crown prince describes how the chronic illness affects Mette-Marit and the royal family, VG reports.  

 

"She has many good days, but the uncertainty is always there. Illness is a part of life. That we should deal with the difficult together," writes Haakon. 

 

Mette-Marit with husband Haakon. Photo: Lotte Fernvall  

 

Cannot be cured  

 

In the autobiography, Haakon writes that Mette-Marit's illness will never be cured. The only thing doctors can do is try to slow down the course of the disease. 

 

"It is not clear from pictures of her that she is ill, but she gets out of breath when she goes up a small hill".  

 

Haakon writes that it is difficult to predict how the disease will affect the wife and that the symptoms can vary from day to day. That the hardest days come after Mette-Marit has pushed herself.  

 

"But you never know when those days will come. It makes life different”. 

 

Mette-Marit. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB 

 

Missed the 50th anniversary celebration  

 

In 2018, Mette-Marit spoke for the first time about the diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis, which is characterized by scarring between the alveoli. The disease can lead to a persistent cough, shortness of breath and recurrent infections.  

 

- I think that life is to some extent about learning to live with uncertainty, and that's how it is for me as well. But I am very optimistic and very happy that I have such talented people around me, the crown princess told NRK at the time. 

 

In September, the Norwegian court announced that Mette-Marit would not attend vid kung Carl Gustaf's 50th birthday celebration due to sick.

 

- It is very sad that she is absent from the celebration, she is a very good friend of the Swedish royal family, said court expert Sara Ericsson to Aftonbladet before the celebration.  

 

FACTS  

There is no cure

• There is no cure There is no cure for pulmonary fibrosis. The treatment is aimed at limiting the course and improving the patient's quality of life.
• The disease means that the lung's normal tissue around the trachea and in the alveoli is transformed into stiff scar tissue, fibrosis.
• The fibrosis makes the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lungs and the bloodstream more difficult, leading to shortness of breath and eventually shortness of breath.
• Known causes of pulmonary fibrosis are that the sufferer has inhaled harmful substances such as asbestos or dust from stone or coal during their working life. In most cases, however, the cause of pulmonary fibrosis is unknown, one then speaks of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis or IPF. 
• The symptoms of IPF are often insidious. Main symptoms are shortness of breath on exertion and dry cough.
  
• About 1,500–2,000 people in Sweden live with IPF. 
  

 Source: Heart-Lung