Tess, then 18, survives the septic attack and is allowed home to recover after a short time in the ICU. Tess: “I thought it would take a month.” She was in top fitness before the septic attack, as a student at the Academy for Physical Education (ALO).
Things are completely different. After three years, Tess is still nowhere: her recovery is not going well and she is actually constantly nauseous and overstimulated. She spends most of her time in bed. Normally going to the ALO is not an option. Doing fun things like going out, certainly not.
“Will this ever get better?” Tess asks herself in the documentary, sitting in her bed. She lies there more often than not. “I try to keep hope, but…” she breaks off and rubs tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
Finally hope
Documentary maker Jaimy van der Meer, director Rob Prass and producer Angélica Baltus follow Tess in the above documentary when, through special therapy, a little hope glimmers on her horizon for the first time. She’s finally making tentative progress on it; “I feel less sick and I can finally do more things in a day.”