Difficult times for Daniel Andre Tande

Ski Flying World Champion Daniel Andre Tande had to spend some time in a hospital recently due to a rare disease.

It all started when he suddenly couldn't breathe after waking up. "I was panicking and thinking about calling the ambulance. But then I took a taxi to the emergency room. I had to stay in the hospital for a week and a half", the 24-year-old told the Norwegian news agency NTB.

The doctors diagnosed the very rare Stevens-Johnson-Syndrom, probably caused by a reaction to a medication. "The chance to get the Stevens-Johnson-Syndrom is less than winning in the lottery. That's my kind of luck.  The immune system more or less attacks its own cells. The mucous membranes, eyes, and nose are affected. My mouth was one big wound and so I couldn't eat."

Despite these big problems, it could have been even worse for the Norwegian: "If I wouldn't have had the reaction in my throat I wouldn't have seen a doctor that quickly. If I wouldn't have been treated in the hospital so soon and the blisters would have started to spread on the skin it could have been much worse. I was told that when the blisters cover more than 10 % of the body, the death rate is at 30 %", Daniel Andre Tande is quoted on nrk.no.

The team Olympic champion from the Games in PyeongChang is feeling better again now, but lost some weight is currently not able to train.