Mastering life with a sick child: fundraising campaign wants to help

Created: 12/10/2022, 7:00 p.m

By: Ines Gokus

To get out once or twice a week, to do something for yourself and to get some social contacts - that's what Paula A. wishes for. © PIcture-Alliance

Paula A. does everything for her mentally ill son.

She cannot share the burden with anyone, but her health is also badly affected.

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen – It is not easy for Paula A. to put her story into words.

"I usually just try to put it out of my mind," she says.

The whole thing is the difficult situation that Paula A. has been in for a few years.

She is the single mother of a mentally ill son who finds it extremely difficult to cope with everyday life.

His diagnosis: social phobia and suspected autism spectrum disorder.

This means that he is overwhelmed by perfectly normal situations, is afraid of other people and hardly ever speaks to anyone – with the exception of his mother.

If he is faced with an everyday challenge, he often reacts with physical symptoms.

He can't ride the school bus alone, go shopping or make a doctor's appointment, and if he wants to go for a walk he waits until dark so he doesn't run into anyone.

“He only talks relatively normally to me,” says Paula A.

The mother cannot share her chores with anyone

He is now of legal age, has completed his secondary school leaving certificate and would like to attend the transition class of the grammar school next school year.

"He's a clever boy," says his mother. "Learning isn't difficult for him." However, attending school will only be possible with school supervision, and this has to be applied for and approved.

He has recently received regular support from a social worker.

A stay in the clinic in the summer also helped him.

Nevertheless, his radius is extremely small and for Paula A. it is extremely stressful to be there for her son around the clock.

He often wakes her up when his fears overwhelm him and she does everything to calm him down.

She cannot share the task with anyone, the boy withdraws even from relatives.

But Paula A. is also in poor health

In addition, Paula A. herself is in poor health.

She has depression, muscle pain, a degenerated spine, chronic fatigue syndrome and visual impairment.

She can no longer do her job as an office clerk.

She fights to ensure that her son is financially supported, but since he came of age it has become much more complicated.

The father does not pay child support and so money is very tight.

The readers help help campaign has been supporting people in need for many years.

© tk archive

The fundraiser “Readers help help” is intended to bring some relief so that Paula A. can buy urgently needed clothing and items for the apartment.

Her dream is to be able to go to a gym regularly again, but the monthly fee is too expensive.

She urgently needs the training for her back and to stay mobile.

But it would also be important for them to get out once or twice a week, do something for themselves and get some social contacts.