By Tomas Kittan
His fate moved Berlin. Tobi was diagnosed with leukemia when he was almost two years old. It is a particularly aggressive blood cancer. The miracle happened: the little boy was completely healed. But then the disease came back. The now young man died at the age of 19.
Fought so bravely, lived so happily: Tobi’s story makes you sad – but also courageous.
Flashback: On an icy February day in 2006, more than 3,600 Berliners queued up for hours to be typed for Tobi. The BZ organized the campaign together with the German Bone Marrow Donor File (DKMS) because the chemo didn’t work for the boy from Pankow.
After another worldwide search, a perfectly suitable donor is found for Tobi: print shop owner Markus S. from Westphalia. In March 2006 the little guy from the 2 meter man gets the stem cell donation. 35 milliliters of blood that save Tobi’s young life.
A second life is beginning for him after spending almost two years in hospitals. BZ is there when donors and recipients meet.
The overjoyed parents Beate (46) and Frank J. (53) get married, move into a pretty little house in the north of Berlin and expand it. Tobi has a little sister, Jasmin (now 14), finishes daycare and school, begins an apprenticeship as an electronics technician.
But in early 2020, the leukemia is coming back. Again chemo, again unsuccessful, again a donor is sought – and found.
This time it’s a young woman. In April 2022 the transplant, the hope for a third life. But a few days later, shortly after Easter, Tobi developed internal sepsis. His spleen is badly attacked and bacteria are poisoning his body.
The doctors put Tobi in an artificial coma. He faces amputations of his hands and legs. After a multi-organ failure, however, he no longer experiences these operations. And maybe that’s lucky…
Father Frank J.: “The most valuable thing was taken from us, a child. Nevertheless, we are grateful for 19 years with our Tobi and proud of how he has developed.”
At the weekend, the SG Blankenburg football club commemorated its deceased teammate with a minute’s silence. Tobi’s funeral is next week.
Despite all the sadness, the father says: “Our Tobi lives on in the hearts of many who have been rescued.” Because: When he was typed in 2006, 44 people were found who could help leukemia patients with their donation.