Back on screen after drama

In late September, Gro Holm moved to Moscow to be NRK’s ​​Russia correspondent. But sanctions have made moving to the Russian capital very difficult, and with heart problems to add, he has had a troubled start to the season.

It was during a run in Gorkyparken one Sunday in mid-October that he fell ill. She was dizzy, short of breath and had chest pains, she describes her, and then she lay down on a bench in the park to get some rest.

After a while he tried to escape, but Holm sensed that all was not as it should be.

– It turned out to be some kind of heart attack. I was admitted to the hospital and the doctors said it was a heart attack. But it wasn’t, he tells Dagbladet on the phone from the Russian capital.

This week she was seen on screen again and last week she just got back to work.

She chose to walk the last few miles of the race and rested when she got home to the apartment. She then she went out to lunch.

– On the way home I felt that I could not walk all the way. I didn’t have enough breath. I took the bus and people stopped and asked me if I needed help but I said no.

After speaking with her daughter, who is a medical student, the advice was clear: go to the doctor.

– Absolutely absurd

The doctor’s appointment was booked the next day, Holm had several talks with Urix during the day and had an appointment with a cardiologist in the afternoon.

– He did an EKG and an ultrasound, said that I had a heart attack and wanted to hospitalize me. I said I didn’t have time for that, she laughs.

Due to the suspected heart attack, the doctor wanted things to happen quickly. The sanctioning regulation, on the other hand, would say otherwise.

– It took seven hours before I was actually admitted, due to the insurance. As a result of the sanctions, they could not provide a guarantee. The hospital wanted NOK 240,000, he says, adding:

– It was a completely absurd situation. The doctors said I should get help ASAP. They called the operations staff, which was also discussed a lot, because of the warranty. Luckily, there was a great doctor at work and I convinced them it would work.

Just before 11pm on Monday evening, it became clear that all was in order and she was placed on the operating table.

After an examination of the contrast medium, it became clear that it was not a heart attack after all, but a stress-triggered spasm in the heart muscles, the so-called Takotsubo, a disease that mainly affects women over 60.

Gro’s uncertain future

Holm was told things will likely return to normal, but was still hospitalized for two days for observation. He still goes to check.

– I’m a 64-year-old woman on beta-blockers, she says and laughs out loud.

– It’s like walking with the handbrake on. But now I feel pretty good.

Four suitcases in Finland

Although it has already been in Moscow for a couple of months, parts of the moving cargo are missing. There was a lot of “stress and control,” he describes, in taking it all over the edge.

– Most of the stress is not the work itself, but all the management in connection with Russia being sanctioned. There has been a lot of stress with customs and the actual moving here.

NRK profile visa issue

– How did the move go overall?

– It didn’t go very well. Four suitcases remained in Finland, with technical equipment and bulletproof vests. In Moscow they say things are going well, but that the local customs office in Vyborg decides.

The advice of the Vyborg customs district is that Holm must cross the border with the equipment every time he renews his visa. It is now every three months.

– It just doesn’t work. We are evaluating other solutions. I’ll take it home to Norway for Christmas, she says.

After the hospital visit in Moscow, she was at home in Norway for a couple of weeks. She then she went to the hospital here and was given six weeks sick leave.

Holm had just returned home when news arrived that much of the moving cargo would not be sent to Russia.

– There was a line in the bill. The Norwegian bank has refused the removal agency to deal with a European company that is in turn cooperating with Russia, she says.

– You had a fair amount of stamina during the first period. Why is it so important to be present in Moscow?

– It is clear that it is important to be here, he replies instantly.

– Russia is the main player in Europe’s worst war since WWII. It is clear that NRK must have a correspondent here. I feel qualified to be here and I find it very interesting. While I’m covering a system of governance that we may not like very much and are critical of, that doesn’t make it any less exciting. Despite what is happening, I really like Russia. There is a lot in the country that Not changes as a result of this war.

– It’s nice not to have children with you

– Trying to watch TV

Holm describes the vibrant cultural city of Moscow. Trendy restaurants, trendy art and architecture, and trendy theater productions. The greatest test, in her eyes, is sitting at home watching TV night after night.

– There is a lot about Putin, both from meetings with other politicians and where he meets “ordinary people” – very smiling and friendly. Then there’s a lot from Ukraine, especially Luhansk and Donbass. From the ongoing fighting on the Russian side, how well they are doing and that they have enough food, ammunition, artillery and warm clothing.

Holm’s job is mostly to talk to Russians about what’s going on. It’s not that simple, in a country characterized by censorship and great state control.

– People are less willing to talk. But note that those who strongly agree with Putin and the Kremlin leadership – are speaking out. It’s not hard to get them to talk. But I have a feeling that when people think differently, they are reluctant to talk to us. Someone we talk to on the phone, to find out if we can interview him, openly says that there is, in practice, censorship in the country. “We dare not, we dare not,” they say. This makes it limited.

In a few weeks Gro Holm will be coming home to celebrate Christmas. She has become a grandmother for the first time, so celebrating Christmas in Norway is a matter of course. At the beginning of the new year, she returns to Moscow.

– Hopefully with more load on the go.