The fighter who always believes in her dreams

Created: 03/12/2022, 20:00

By: Alexandra Anderka

Kathi Heilmaier discovers the mountains on her bike © private

Erding – Kathi Heilmaier (24) overcome leukemia at the age of 14, now she is training for the trail marathon.

It's been a good ten years since a bone marrow donation saved Kathi Heilmaier's life.

The then 14-year-old from Erding suffered from an aggressive form of leukemia.

Today, the 24-year-old, who since then celebrates her birthday twice a year, is studying physiotherapy in Rosenheim and has just registered for the trail marathon, which starts in Innsbruck on May 7th.

"My cardiologist doesn't know anything about it yet," admits the young woman, who has suffered from heart failure since her cancer.

But she is firmly convinced: "One must not give up one's dreams."

She's had dreams since she was a little girl.

"I always wanted to compete in the Ironman in Hawaii." The long-distance triathlon with 3.86 kilometers of swimming, 180.2 kilometers of cycling and 42.195 kilometers of running is considered one of the most demanding endurance competitions in the world.

13-year-old Kathi was just training for a ten-kilometer race in September 2011 when she felt a "little bump" under her arm.

At first she doesn't think much, because so far everything has always gone smoothly for the talented girl.

Kathi Heilmaier was born in Erding on October 9, 1997 as the fourth of five siblings.

Mother Karin is a doctor's assistant and father Michael Bierfahrer at the foundation brewery.

The older siblings are formative for little Kathi even during kindergarten.

"When my brothers and sister did their homework, I sat down and learned with them." That's why Kathi can already read, write and do arithmetic when she starts the first grade.

"I was pretty bored at first," she recalls.

Her teacher also recognizes this, and she lets her skip a class and sends her to the second.

The sporty Kathi enjoys gymnastics and trampoline jumping.

In the sixth grade - she has since switched to the Korbinian-Aigner-Gymnasium - she discovered her passion for triathlon and started her training at the Trisport Erding club.

She is ambitious and full of enthusiasm.

"It was always my goal to switch to competitive sports," she says.

But then came the day that would change Kathi's life.

She shows her mother the Huckel under her arm.

The doctor's assistant makes an appointment with the family doctor.

He takes blood, refers Kathi to an oncologist in Erding and then everything happens very quickly: "As soon as he had the blood values, we went straight to the Schwabing hospital, I was put on infusions and my chemo was immediately prepared." Kathi Heilmaier has a " super aggressive form of leukemia.

Many examinations follow, because the chemotherapy has to be adapted exactly to the patient.

At this point, Kathi is almost 14 years old and "checked everything." But she only cried after three months, when a very painful biopsy was carried out.

"I said to myself, 'I'll do it now'." There was no alternative, she admits.

There were also moments later when death seemed more attractive than survival, but I was always convinced that I could do it.

Kathi Heilmaier

At that time she still believed that she would be home again in six to eight weeks.

She was annoyed that the doctors didn't take her seriously.

"They only discussed everything with my parents." Except for a doctor, who was always honest, also with her, "even when it was hard".

As it turned out later, once too hard.

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As fate would have it, shortly before her diagnosis, Kathi read a book about a teenager who contracted cancer and died from it.

"And now I'm lying there myself," she thought, but didn't doubt for a second that she would survive, "although it was already clear to me that my illness is life-threatening.

There were also moments later when death seemed more attractive than survival, but I was always convinced that I could make it.” Over the next three months, she will be given one chemoblock after the other.

Since her immune system is so weakened as a result, she is completely isolated in a room that is only accessible through an airlock.

The limited visitors must wrap themselves in protective clothing.

"Today you know that from Corona, back then it was crazy."

Kathi is a fighter, she can do it.” She has always proven that in competitions.

friend Eva Peis

Only three people are allowed to see her, her two parents and her best friend Eva Peis.

The two girls trained together in the triathlon club.

The 27-year-old visited Kathi twice a week for months, for her the hospital was "a different world".

"We rarely talked about the cancer," she remembers, "we tried to make it as normal as possible." Eva Peis brings her friend a video camera to the clinic, on which she records training sessions and excursions, "to let Kathi participate a little in life outside of the hospital".

It was difficult for the then 17-year-old to see her friend suffer so much.

But she always knew: "Kathi is a fighter, she can do it." She has always proven that in competitions.

The sick Kathi sleeps a lot and throws up all the time.

"I spat through a whole year," she says and, looking back, is convinced: "I threw up my heart out." She can't keep food down and ultimately has to be fed through her veins.

Her hair is falling out.

"It wasn't bad, at least I didn't have to wash them," she says pragmatically.

But she can't separate from them completely.

To this day, she keeps the hair that has fallen out in a box.

After the first chemoblock, the doctors already knew: Kathi needs a bone marrow donation.

After the family is out of the question, they search the DKMS database.

This news triggers a wave of solidarity and helpfulness in Erding.

Almost 2600 citizens can be typed in December 2011 in the Simmet Anger school.

There is no suitable donor for Kathi, but there are for several other cancer patients.

It takes three months to find a suitable donor, a 40-year-old woman from Cologne.

“I am infinitely grateful to the woman,” says Kathi.

However, her lack of independence bothers her more than her illness.

"I was still very young, but I was already very independent and self-reliant, suddenly my parents had to put a pot under my butt, which was difficult for me.

"Your parents would have done anything.

I could hardly eat anything, my mom even peeled grapes for me," she says, touched, and it hurt her a lot to see her suffer so much.

"So I made it all up to myself.

I didn't want to tell my parents what was going on in my head, I didn't want to burden them any further.” There are always disappointments.

Although Kathi longs so much to spend Christmas and New Year's Eve at home, her critical state of health puts a spanner in the works.

what's going on in my head, I didn't want to burden her any further.” Again and again there are disappointments.

Although Kathi longs so much to spend Christmas and New Year's Eve at home, her critical state of health puts a spanner in the works.

what's going on in my head, I didn't want to burden her any further.” Again and again there are disappointments.

Although Kathi longs so much to spend Christmas and New Year's Eve at home, her critical state of health puts a spanner in the works.

The time has come at the beginning of 2012: The transplantation is scheduled for January 27th.

"You start counting ten days beforehand," explains the student.

She is once again given “maximally aggressive chemo”, the immune system is shut down to zero so that the donor bone marrow is not rejected.

"If anything had gone wrong on the day of the transplant, I would not have survived," explains the former cancer patient.

Everything works.

The bag of blood with the donor bone marrow arrives in time and is attached.

"The transplantation itself was completely unspectacular," she says, "this foreign blood just flows into your body." It depends on the next few weeks: With Kathi, again in isolation, it took more than two months for the foreign bone marrow to grow and the body is capable of producing its own

to form healthy cells.

Then the big day approaches when the young patient is to be discharged.

The final examination is pending – and the next disappointment follows.

The cardiologist has bad news: Kathi suffers from heart muscle inflammation, a virus has spread to her heart.

That day she is so desperate that she still wants to go home.

But she has to recover completely in the hospital.

Her heart failure remains.

When she was released, the honest doctor advised Kathi when she asked if she could do sports again: "Find another hobby and be happy that you survived the cancer." A shock for the enthusiastic athlete, but she agrees not satisfied with this statement.

Kathi is certain: "I'll be running again in the city triathlon in Erding." Looking back, she says:

Sport saved my life.

Kathi Heilmaier

She returns to school.

“I had to wear a mask all the time, everyone had to take great care of me.

I was always more in the clinic than at home.” But in the summer of 2012, she started training again in small steps.

At first she only goes for walks, then Nordic walking, until she runs again in small distances.

Always by your side: The trainers Christian Hörmannsdorfer and Daniela Mau from Trisport Erding.

Kathi Heilmaier believes: "Sport saved my life."

In April 2013 the time had come: Kathi Heilmaier is back and running in the Erdinger city triathlon.

A nurse from the Schwabing hospital is at her side throughout the competition, the trainer paddles with her when she swims, and she is allowed to ride a bike in the slipstream.

"The comeback was great, that really gave me strength," she says happily to this day.

From there it goes up.

Four more city triathlons and two city runs in Erding and more touring competitions follow.

After five years, the final examination in the Schwabing hospital is due and there she meets the said doctor.

"After my story, she apologized to me for being so harsh at the time.

She was really sorry.” Good years followed for Kathi, her heart failure was cured with medication.

She completes her high school diploma and travels to Canada for a year through “Work and Travel”.

There she blossoms.

She works on farms, in a rafting camp and as a maid in a hotel "to supplement my travel budget".

Her old dream soon comes to her mind: the Ironman in Hawaii.

She manages to travel to Hawaii for a week and help out in all areas as a volunteer at the Ironman.

Hawaii inspired her so much that after leaving Canada she lived there with a host family for two months.

She looks back on that time with great gratitude and fascination: “The people on the islands are so deeply relaxed.” There she gets the feeling of “finally recovering and shedding more ballast.

"I suddenly tried crazy things again and felt myself."

With these good experiences in her luggage, she returns home and begins her studies in physiotherapy.

"The physio was an incredibly important person for me during my illness and even afterwards," she explains her decision.

Now she's preparing for the trail marathon and she's happy: "It makes me feel alive." For girlfriend Eva Peis, the registration isn't a big surprise.

"It was only a matter of time," she says with a smile.

Is the trail marathon the alternative to the Ironman?

"No," says Kathi Heilmaier resolutely.

"I'll still do that, maybe when I'm the best ager at 50 or 60." After this life story, hardly anyone doubts it.

Kathi Heilmaier in the hospital © private

"My Life" Series

Many people look back on exciting lives with breaks, strokes of fate, successes or positive turns.

In the series "My Life" we present them in a loose series.

Do you know someone who has a story to tell? Then send an email to redaktion@erdinger-anzeiger.de or call Tel. (0 8122) 412-134.

The smart girl skipped the first class © private