Jörg Adlassnigg:

“I first had to learn to breathe again”

Jörg Adlassnigg was unlucky - and then very lucky. The cabaret artist and teacher was able to continue his life with someone else's lungs. He is infinitely grateful for that.

(Bild: Mathis Fotografie)

In his new series "The second life", author Robert Schneider talks to people who have been given a second chance. He recently met with Jörg Adlassnigg.

It has become quiet around him. He was well known to local cabaret audiences for his portrayal of rough-hewn, often prickly characters who nevertheless have their hearts in the right place. In countless episodes of Stefan Vögel's unique and, in terms of audience numbers, unrivaled success "Grüß Gott in Voradelberg", Jörg Adlassnigg, who was a teacher by profession, was on the stage every evening. But he was also a congenial partner in Maria Neuschmid's plays, parrying the punchlines, which were literally written for him, with Alemannic sobriety. He was last seen in the cabaret "Alt", a humorous, often bitter satire on the subject of elderly care. That was in 2018, when he fell seriously ill.

Robert Schneider: Jörg, it's great that you're kicking off our new interview series "Das zweite Leben", where I get to portray people who were close to death but were given the chance of a new beginning.
Jörg Adlassnigg: I'm happy to do that, although we still need to talk about the new beginning, as you say.

What exactly did you fall ill with?
It's called COPD for short, which stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. I had it in the highest stage, paired with emphysema. In other words, I was terminally ill because the air sacs in my lungs were dissolving, so to speak. Although COPD can be delayed by oxygen supply, it inevitably ends in death unless a lung transplant is performed.

Jörg Adlassnigg is now building up his fitness again. The illness was a massive turning point in his life.

(Bild: Mathis Fotografie)

When did you first feel that something was wrong with you? Was it perhaps even during a performance?
No, I noticed it when I was jogging. I was 52 at the time and I've always done a lot for my body. Mainly out of vanity.

That's right. You always looked incredibly strong and well-trained to me. "A man like a tree", as Büchner says.
The whole thing started gradually. I became increasingly short of breath. Eventually, I went to the doctor, who diagnosed me with pneumonia, which I thought I had caught. Yes, and then in 2019 I finally had clarity. The diagnosis was COPD. My quality of life deteriorated from month to month. So it happened very quickly for me.

Of course, that had an impact on teaching and acting, I suppose.
That's right. I felt that I was talking less and less, that I was becoming lazy in a way, which I never was. Talking consumes a lot of oxygen. Finally, there were also physical symptoms. I got tired quickly, even shaving became an effort. I had become a nursing case. Margit, my wife, to whom I owe so much, had to wash my hair because I simply didn't have the strength anymore. From 2021, I could no longer leave the house. I was no longer even able to hold an espresso cup steady in my hand.

That must be torture for a self-determined person like you.
The worst were the panic attacks at night when I woke up because I couldn't breathe and thought I was suffocating. Three times I had what is known as a CO2 coma, which means I passed out. If Margit hadn't noticed this in time, I wouldn't be alive today. I would have simply fallen asleep and died.

So there was only one way out. A lung transplant.
That's right. I registered at the University Hospital in Innsbruck and underwent all the preliminary examinations. It was a very long and laborious procedure. What impressed me most was how seriously the doctors took the whole thing, especially Dr. Bucher, who is still with me today. I was also firmly reminded that a lung transplant always has an ethical component. A person has died and, if I'm lucky, I can continue to live with a part of that person.

Was that a problem for you?
No. It was an encouragement to do my part to make the operation a success, with all my strength and respect for the great work of these doctors.

How long did you have to wait for the transplant?
18 months. That seemed very short to me. The operation was on September 30, 2023. The day before, half past eleven at night, the phone rang. I had to be ready in half an hour and would be taken to Innsbruck.

A lung transplant also has an ethical component. A person has died and, if I'm lucky, I get to live on with a part of that person.

Jörg Adlassnigg

What was going through your mind shortly before the operation? Can you still remember it?
Very clearly, actually. I was already lying half-sedated on the hospital bed, saw the neon lights in the corridors above me and the surgeon, Dr. Krapf, said very warmly that they would do everything humanly possible. As I had arranged for a living will, it was important for me to say that if something went wrong, I would like to go to sleep without artificial prolongation. Then I would be happy with the world.

And now, more than a year later, you're sitting in front of me, looking as if nothing had ever happened. A man like a tree.
I'm not that far yet. But it's simply a miracle what the doctors have done for me, whether in Hohenems, in pulmonology, in Innsbruck or in the aftercare clinic in Natters, I can't put it any other way. But it was a tough road. I had to rebuild all my muscles - I'm still working on that - and learn the simplest thing in the world all over again: breathing.

How did this drastic break change your life?
That brings us back to your question at the beginning. Many people believe that a completely different, new life begins after something like this. That's not the case for me. My life has remained the same and yet is completely different. I haven't become someone else. I was extremely lucky to be looked after by the Austrian healthcare system and was really treated like a king. I can only say thank you for that.

When will we see you on stage again?
Of course I would like to play again. Maybe with Maria Neuschmid, maybe something completely different. But I'm taking it slowly. I'm currently giving private lessons, which I really enjoy because I like working with children so much.

Jörg, thank you very much for talking to us!