A boy from Munich has clots in his head. Because the intensive care units are overcrowded, the operation is postponed – and postponed again. A Christmas story that tells how something that seemed impossible suddenly became possible.
There is a great longing for Christmas films and stories that touch the heart and give hope. It’s always big – and now a little more pronounced than in other years. The secret of the success of the little Christmas fairy tales is that they make you dream. That they tell what becomes possible, what seems impossible.
This story takes place in the middle of Munich. It’s about a boy, let’s call him Paul. It’s about his friends, a happy group of 15 to 17 year olds. The story takes place around a campfire on the Isar and it takes place in the intensive care unit of a large Munich clinic.
It has been a few months since Paul noticed paralysis in his arm. The diagnosis was there quickly, a clot in the head that was supposed to be operated on. Not an easy procedure, but a feasible one. In a country, in a city, with good hospitals and specialized doctors. Paul had to wait a little for the operation, a good two months – appointments in the clinic were rare. During this time: No sport, just don’t jump. Paul also stayed home rather than meeting his friends. They wrote to each other. Better to be careful, you never know.
Then the big day of the operation approached. The evening before, a small farewell round for him with a campfire. The friends came armed with razors on loan from their fathers. The batteries were carefully charged. And so they solemnly shaved Paul’s head, an encouraging gesture before the major operation.
The next morning the call came from the clinic: OP canceled, no space in the intensive care unit. No doctor is happy to deliver such news. Paul, with his shaved head, had to wait on. Put on your hat, no sport, just don’t jump, you’d better not meet friends.
Day after day, the managers of the hospitals in Munich have to decide which operations are possible – and which are not. Lack of intensive care beds, because these are overcrowded by Covid-19 patients, the majority of them unvaccinated. A city is in disaster mode. The big is found in the small: What happens in the big wide world has touched the boys and their friend Paul in a direct way. It’s a Christmas story that tells how something that seemed impossible suddenly became possible.
Paul then had to wait another month for his operation. Last week he sent a selfie from the clinic to the Whatsapp group: a huge head bandage with a swollen, tired face embedded in it – and a small smile. Paul will be home for Christmas.