Lindlar entrepreneur supports family of 13-year old handicapped girl.
Lindlar - "That was the darkest day of my life," recalls Britta Klein from Lindlar-Unterbüschem. What is meant is October 4, 2005, a golden autumn day. Until the unimaginable happens: In order not to leave her daughter Johanna, who was ten weeks old at the time, alone in her apartment, Britta Klein takes her with her into the cellar. She stumbles on the stairs, the baby slips away from her arms, falls down several steps and bangs her head against a wall. This brief moment has changed the life of the family forever.
For weeks, the infant fought for his life; in an operation lasting several hours, a large part of the affected left hemisphere had to be removed. Weeks and months of anxiety followed as to how far Johanna would be able to recover - an unbelievable burden for the family, which included Jonas, who was three years old at the time, as well as Johanna.
Happy despite handicap
But despite the sometimes devastating prognoses of the doctors, Britta and Markus Klein did not give up, informed themselves about therapies and worked tirelessly from the beginning to bring Johanna back to life as far as possible.
Today Johanna is 13 years old and despite her severe disability a cheerful girl who likes to laugh.
Over the years, however, the parents faced new problems. The various therapies involved a great deal of financial effort, and a house had to be built that was suitable for the handicapped.
At first the family had to do without a stairlift. In the meantime, however, it had become almost impossible to carry Johanna, who now weighs over 40 kilograms, up to the upper floor. In addition, the 20-year-old handicapped accessible car threatened to resign from service.
Financially at the limit, the couple came up with the idea of writing a letter and asking Lindlar companies for help. "That wasn't easy for us," says Britta Klein, "but we thought we could ask.
Companies, associations and private individuals are happy to help
Markus Kind contacted me by e-mail and asked for a meeting. In the beginning I was sceptical," says the managing director of the Rolf Kind company, "but during his visit he was incredibly impressed by the joie de vivre and optimism that the family radiates despite the difficult fate.
For ONI company founder Wolfgang Oehm, it was also immediately clear that he would help: "As an entrepreneur, you also have a social responsibility towards society. Both started different actions. Together with other company and private donations, a high five-figure sum was collected which made it possible to purchase a new family car suitable for the disabled.
Further support was provided by the Förderverein für Kinder- und Jugendhilfe in Lindlar (KiJu) - both financially and organisationally - by setting up and managing a donations account.
Many thanks
For Britta and Markus Klein, the new car is a great relief: "We are simply overjoyed and were incredibly happy about every single donation," explains the 42-year-old with a smile.
After the extensive inspection of the new vehicle, the family thanked the representatives of the main participants with coffee and homemade cake in their own garden.
The installation of a stairlift was recently made possible with the help of various foundations and is another great relief for Johanna and her parents.
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