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Doris Schröder-Köpf, member of the SPD and ex-wife of former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder
Photo: Holger Hollemann / picture alliance / dpa
Doris Schröder-Köpf, the ex-wife of the former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (both SPD), suffered two strokes after her severe heart operation at the end of last year.
Fortunately, there were only minor strokes, said the 57-year-old member of the Lower Saxony state parliament of the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" on Saturday.
Nevertheless, the temporary paralysis on one side was a shock to her and made her desperate.
Before the major operation on the heart at the end of November, she was much more composed because she and her family were able to prepare for the heart surgery, Schröder-Köpf told the newspaper.
But now she suddenly had to go to the clinic while the children were in school and their partner, Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD), was out and about.
Stroke on the day of the trial
Schröder-Köpf recently withdrew a lawsuit against the new wife of her ex-husband, Soyeon Schröder-Kim, because of statements about the separation.
This should have been negotiated on March 19 in Hamburg - exactly the day on which Schröder-Köpf had the second small stroke.
"Not to be imagined if I'd been behind the wheel of my car on the way to Hamburg," she said.
It is possible that her new heart valve was partly responsible for the strokes.
They have a somewhat rough surface to which something can adhere.
If these attachments are loosened, there could be sudden circulatory disorders in the brain, Schröder-Köpf told the newspaper.
But she is now on the right track and very much hopes to be able to return to the political stage in a few weeks.
caw / AFP
