"Now I feel confident that I will be able to help my son to further improve his state."

Haroulla Pora stayed with her son for one year in Kliniken Schmieder Allensbach

"Since the accident my life has become an everyday-fight for my son"

Haroulla Pora spent a year at Kliniken Schmieder with her son, who was treated there after a serious accident in 2020.  She is very grateful for the support she received from the entire team at the clinic.

"My name is Haroulla and I am from Cyprus. I spent the last 12 months at Kliniken Schmieder in Allensbach, accompanying my son Giorgos-Alexandros during his rehabilitation.

Giorgos-Alexandros suffered a tragic accident in 2020 and due to the severity of his injuries and the need for a rehabilitation after the surgeries, we decided to travel abroad for treatment. I knew that we had a long recovery ahead of us and that it would take the expertise of a specialized rehabilitation centre to help Giorgos-Alexandros to recover.

About ten years ago a relative of mine received a treatment in Germany. He stayed at Kliniken Schmieder in Heidelberg and we were very satisfied with the help he received. So, when my son required a neurological rehabilitation, I also wanted him to be treated at Kliniken Schmieder.

With the help of my sister, who arranged the treatment together with the International Department of Kliniken Schmieder, we were able to get a free bed for Giorgos-Alexandros in Allensbach. Due to Corona pandemic, we had to postpone the beginning of the rehabilitation but we managed the situation and Giorgos-Alexandros was admitted to the clinic on the 21st of June 2020.

I already knew that the hospital would be able to help Giorgos- Alexandros, therefore, my main concern was not to be able to be together with him during the treatment due to the pandemic. And that‘s how it happened at the beginning of our stay! For the first couple of weeks I stayed in an apartment, located on the hospital grounds. Together with the chief physician however, we finally found a solution that allowed me to be with my son, without risking him or the staff to be infected. Without the Corona restrictions, things would have been much easier.

Since the accident my life has become an everyday-fight for my son and during this past year at the hospital, the hospital team supported me a lot in this fight. We are like a family now. I very much appreciate how doctors, nurses, and therapists included me into the treatment process and explained to me what they did.  We discussed how things worked and what effect they had on my son. They also taught me how I could do the exercises at home. Now I feel confident that I will be able to help my son to further improve his state.

During the entire stay we were happy the way we were treated. Besides some minor problems, which are probably normal, if you stay somewhere for a year, we felt safe and welcome. Even though Giorgos-Alexandros was in an intensive-care-like-setting, we had time to ourselves and when we needed something, there was always someone we could ask. The doctors, and especially Prof. Chatzikonstantinou, took great care of us and help me to overcome even difficult situations. Also Dr. Neumann and Dr. Kaps supported us a lot.

Now it is time for us to go home. My son needs to be with his family after such long stay abroad. In Cyprus, we will get a different type of the treatment, which due to the Corona situation and multi-resistant bacteria, was not possible in Germany. We are planning to come back for another two or three months in a year, when Giorgos- Alexandros undergoes another surgery."

At the request of the relatives, we have refrained from publishing a picture of the patient.