Jeder Moment zählt

Why cutting-edge medicine? Why research that takes years? Because every moment counts. Because every life counts. And because the power of medicine changes lives.

Every year, around 90,000 patients are treated as inpatients at the University Medical Center Freiburg. But behind these figures are stories like those of Stefan, Lynn, Christian and Marianna. Four people who give us a personal insight into their lives. People who show us what it means to reach your limits, to find hope again and to live a life that was only made possible by cutting-edge medicine.

The camera accompanies them - in everyday life, in emotional moments. They talk about challenges, highs and lows, about hope and small and big successes. The view of the protagonists is always combined with great respect for the people. These stories stand for many other patients who receive support from cutting-edge medicine every day.

Because every moment counts. Because every life counts.

Lynn (12 years old): Lynn and her family have already experienced many dramatic moments. Lynn was given a pacemaker immediately after birth because she has a serious heart defect. But when she was just three years old, she suffered myocarditis, which almost killed her. Her only hope was a heart transplant, and she was immediately transferred by rescue helicopter from Stuttgart to the Clinic for Pediatric Cardiology and Congenital Heart Defects at Freiburg University Hospital. Several major operations followed and Lynn's condition continued to deteriorate. After three difficult weeks, a donor organ is finally available. But complications followed even after the transplant. About six weeks later, she was finally allowed to leave the intensive care unit. Today, thanks to the transplant, she lives an almost normal life, dances hip-hop, plays the harp and has fun with her siblings. Lynn says: "I think it's great that I can still live. Because it could have been that I'm no longer here. And I just enjoy it."

Christian (32 years old): Even as a child, Christian struggled with severe hearing loss. He initially receives powerful hearing aids, but they only help a little. This meant a lot of frustration for Christian. In the course of his childhood, Christian finally received two implants that enabled him to hear properly for the first time. He learned to speak almost completely from scratch. Since the beginning, he has been supported at the Cochlear Implant Center of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the University Medical Center Freiburg. Today, Christian has fulfilled his dream: As one of the first wearers of two implants in southern Germany, he works as a bus and streetcar driver. He also regularly keeps order at SC Freiburg matches in the stadium. Christian says: "The implants mean that I can lead a normal life with almost no restrictions."

Stefan (38 years old): Stefan, father of two, is an industrial mechanic who builds roller coasters and other technology on behalf of customers. In 2020, the part-time farmer has a serious motorcycle accident on the way back from his field in the Markgräfler Land region near Freiburg. His lower leg is broken open. Stefan calls the emergency services himself and is taken to Freiburg University Hospital, where he undergoes emergency surgery. However, he has contracted a serious bone infection in the accident and even an amputation is on the cards. Over 20 operations, bone and skin transplants at the Clinic for Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery are necessary until the bone has healed. "After such an operation, you realize that there is only one life," says Stefan. Today, he can walk almost normally again and continues to work as an industrial mechanic, supported by his company. "In principle, you could say that being able to walk again is like being almost reborn."

Marianna (40 years old): Marianna, an oncology nurse, cares for people with cancer every day at the University Medical Center Freiburg. In 2018, it hit her herself: Breast cancer. The diagnosis shattered her life. "My thoughts were only with my daughter. I wanted to remain a part of her life," she says. She quickly received her first chemotherapy at the Breast Center at Freiburg University Hospital, followed by surgery. The months that followed were tough - physically and emotionally. But Marianna receives a lot of support from the medical team, her colleagues and her personal environment. Returning to work gives her new strength. Today, she particularly appreciates the little moments: walks in nature, laughing with her daughter and the freedom to live independently. "I appreciate time more today because it's so limited."