Prince kept his medical condition private from many — including his close friends. The New York Times reports that the late icon assured members of his inner circle that "nothing was wrong" just days before his death.
The "Purple Rain" singer, who died at the age of 57 on April 21, made the comment days after his private plane had to make an emergency landing in Illinois on April 15. Prince was rushed to the hospital via ambulance, and he later returned to his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, that same day. His rep told Us Weekly at the time that the singer was battling flu-like symptoms. The New York Times reports that Prince organized a house party and rode a bicycle in a mall parking lot days later.
During that time, Prince also told his lawyer, L. Londell McMillan, that there was no cause for concern. "I'm doing perfect," he said, according to the New York Times.
His loved ones didn't agree, though. According to the paper, Prince told some friends that he was feeling depressed. (Other pals didn't notice a change.)
Amid the concern, Prince's representatives began to look for an addiction doctor. The late star had been taking pain medication for years following hip surgery that he'd had in the mid-2000s.
That's where Dr. Howard Kornfeld stepped in. As previously reported, Kornfeld flew his son, Andrew Kornfeld, on an overnight flight from California to Minnesota to assist Prince. The following morning Andrew was among those to find Prince in his elevator.
"The hope was to get him stabilized in Minnesota and convince him to come to Recovery Without Walls in Mill Valley. That was the plan," William J. Mauzy, a lawyer for the Kornfeld family, said during a news conference on Wednesday. "[Dr. Kornfeld] felt it was a lifesaving mission."
As previously reported, Prince's autopsy was completed on April 22. The results are still pending.
