Prince’s Pain Pills Addiction Doctor: 2 People Screamed When Prince Found Dead, Couldn’t Give Him Suboxone

Prince was about 24 hours away from getting help for an alleged addiction to pain pills. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Prince was about 24 hours away from his appointment with Dr. Howard Kornfeld, a California-based doctor.

Recovery Without Walls is the name of the treatment center that got a call from Prince’s associates, who reached out for help from Dr. Kornfeld on April 20. According to Prince’s people, Prince was in the midst of a very serious medical emergency and needed help. Howard found it difficult to immediately clear up his schedule in order to fly out to meet Prince on April 21, however, Dr. Kornfeld sent his son in his stead — Andrew Kornfeld — to help Prince.

A lawyer who worked with the Kornfeld Family spilled the news about the California doctor who was tapped to help Prince get over a pain pill addiction. William Mauzy, a well-known attorney in Minneapolis, said that Dr. Kornfeld planned to meet with Prince on April 22, but that would end up being too late. Prince died on April 21.

According to the Recovery Without Walls website, the treatment center is based in Mill Valley, California. Recovery Without Walls is a private outpatient clinic that helps those suffering from the types of chronic pain that Prince suffered from. Recovery Without Walls uses dietary methods, pharmacology, and psychotherapy to help patients via evidence-based medicinal tactics. They also help with addictions — including addictions to prescription medication.

When Andrew Kornfeld got to Paisley Park in Minnesota, he planned to find out all the details of Prince’s condition and develop a treatment plan that would save Prince’s life. Andrew took a cross-country flight from San Francisco on the same evening that Prince’s reps reached out — and planned to meet with Prince on Thursday morning.

However, Andrew got to Paisley Park at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, and Prince couldn’t be found. Ultimately, Prince’s body was found by Kornfeld and two other people inside the elevator shortly after 9:30 a.m., and the others were in such shock that they did not call the police.

Andrew called the police and told authorities they were at Prince’s home. It is because Kornfeld was not familiar with Paisley Park that he was not able to give a house address to the dispatcher.

“The people are just distraught. … We’re in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and we are at the home of Prince.”

Eventually Prince’s death was pronounced at 10:07 a.m. — less than 20 minutes after emergency help arrived. With pain pills found at Paisley Park and on Prince’s body — along with foul play and suicide temporarily being ruled out — suspicions of pain pill addiction have run rampant in the wake of Prince’s death.

Dr. Kornfeld advised that a local doctor check on Prince and get Prince’s health stabilized immediately. Ultimately, the hope was that Prince would travel to California to be treated long-term with nursing support 24 hours per day. The plan was to give Prince a substance called suboxone, which could have helped to lessen any cravings for opioids such as Percocet. Andrew did not get the chance to give the small amount of buprenorphine, or suboxone, to Prince.

Prince set up meeting with Doctor to deal with Opiate addiction the day before his death: https://t.co/yaTGbHrUJi pic.twitter.com/r5HD5SCwIi

— Power 105.1 (@Power1051) May 4, 2016

On social media, the reaction to news that Prince was so close to getting help for an alleged addiction to pain medication is sending some Prince fans reeling over what could have been had Prince lived.

Prince to Be Simulcast on Radio Stations ‘7 Hours and 13 Days’ After His Death https://t.co/dEiJfvl42X

— Chris Dev (@ChrisDevOrig) May 4, 2016

Planned simulcast broadcasts of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” song are scheduled to be played 13 days and seven hours after Prince’s death. The timing pays homage to the opening lyric of the song.

“It’s been 7 hours and 13 days, since you took your love away.”

The timing works out for Prince fans to hear “Nothing Compares 2 U” on Wednesday, at 5:07 p.m. CT, which is 6:07 p.m. ET and 3:07 p.m. PT.

[Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File]