Our story began on November 7, 2018, the day our child Ilai was born in Bad Soden, Germany and it was the happiest day in our lives. Shortly thereafter we travelled back to Brazil, where we have been living for work purposes for several years. This is also where Keth and I met and got married two years ago.

After our son was born, we have decided to return to Germany as a small family at the end of 2019. Our life was perfect until then. It was filled with harmony and joy.

But then everything changed. When we received the diagnosis "neuroblastoma" for our Ilai, our lives changed abruptly. A flood of emotions, heartbreaking decisions, emotional pain and excessive demands overwhelmed us. Even the return to Germany could unfortunately not take place as planned due to the sudden illness and the associated treatments.

Hinzu kommt, dass Pascals berufliche Entsendung ins Ausland leider nicht zulässt, die dringend benötigte Eltern- oder Familienpflegezeit in Anspruch zu nehmen. Eine dadurch resultierende Rückversetzung würde dazu führen, dass wir die Krankenversicherung in Brasilien verlieren würden und die Behandlung dort somit nicht weiterführen könnten.

Therefore we have no other choice than to try to balance work, the ongoing hospital stays and the care of our child as efficiently and gently as possible.

We have only one wish: to give our beloved son a normal life. Not to be locked up in hospital or at home, but simply to be allowed to be a child. Happy, carefree and with the magic of shining children's eyes. Because the beauty of being a child is to think that everything is forever.

Despite his illness, Ilai is a cheerful, brave and strong child. He loves to dance and laugh and, especially at this age, he experiences how much there is still to discover in the world. And that is exactly what he should do for a long time to come.