Mia enchants everyone with her smile

Wide-awake eyes flash out from under a blonde mop of hair. Mia sits on her little bed in the Bethel Children's Centre as if on a throne. She attentively follows everything that happens around her. And incidentally, the three-year-old enchants everyone she meets with a sweet smile. Nobody who meets the cheerful girl today has any idea how hard Mia has had to fight for her life.

Mia was born in Bethel, five weeks before her due date. "At that point, we already knew that Mia was ill," says mum Lisa Freise. The doctors soon realised just how ill: the intestines had not grown together properly, the heart had a defect and several organs were in the wrong place in the little body. All of this was probably due to an underlying genetic disorder. The doctors in Bethel acted quickly: the first operation was performed shortly after birth, the second two months later. These were serious, complicated operations. But they saved Mia's life. It was only seven months after her birth that the little girl was allowed home for the first time - finally! But the worst time was yet to come. A life-threatening septicaemia developed. Mia spent another two months in intensive care and even had to be ventilated.

Fortunately, that's over now. Nevertheless, Mia has to go to Bethel more often. For example, when her oesophagus, which keeps closing up, needs to be surgically stretched. These visits are part of everyday life for the family. "It's no longer a stressful situation for Mia," says her mum. "We feel we are in good hands at Bethel." So far, the girl has been fed via infusions. She has long since got used to the tube in her stomach, as well as the small rucksack that she always has to carry with her. The bag contains her nutrient solution.

Now her parents are trying to get Mia used to eating in small steps. And this works better and better. She tries everything, but only very tentatively. "She's not used to having anything in her mouth. She used to not tolerate a drop of water. Now she sometimes even bites off a small piece of an apple," explains Lisa Freise. "This is a huge step forward for us!"

Text: Robert Burg | Photos: Thomas Richter