For top athletes, successful careers can literally vanish into thin air within minutes. Be it an injury or an illness that suddenly puts the body out of action. In January 2008, Stefan Hainzl had to accept that this fate can also affect supervisors. “It was the rest day of the Four Hills Tournament, where I was the team doctor. I went cross-country skiing. Suddenly I had visual problems in my left eye and couldn’t see colors anymore,” says the 45-year-old from Ottensheim. After an extensive series of examinations in the Hospital of the Sisters of Mercy in Linz, the diagnosis was clear: multiple sclerosis (MS).
How do you deal with such a devastating diagnosis of a disease that is thought to be incurable? At first, Stefan Hainzl, team doctor of the ÖSV Nordic Combined, had a similar experience as many other patients. He did not want to acknowledge his situation, was depressed, and hid his symptoms from his personal and professional environment. Gradually, however, he began to fight. In fact, he found the “way back to life” that he tells about in his book “Comeback”.
This comeback was of a rocky nature: “I saw the wheelchair approaching. The course of the disease was progressing much too quickly for me. I was no longer sure whether I would still be able to go to my daughters’ prom.” When Hainzl then actively dealt with his illness, he found his own way of self-therapy – with success. Today he leads a largely symptom-free life.
In order to encourage MS patients and to inform others, he not only shares his story in his book, but also personally in an interview on Sunday, July 24, at 6 p.m. in the “DAS/SEE” restaurant. Admission is free free, registration at m4l.at is recommended. After the presentation there is the opportunity to talk to the author and enjoy the evening with a bread tasting.
Source: Nachrichten
