Family shapes many people throughout their lives.
Image: dpa
Whether we are healthy depends not only on pathogens, but also on our early imprinting. Our closest environment determines how resilient we become.
BWhen saying goodbye, Felix hugged his loan grandfather tightly. He didn’t say much at the table, but it was clear to him that this was a new person who was there for him. The first meeting between Bernhard Herzog and the then six-year-old went perfectly. Herzog had agreed to become the boy’s godfather. “Felix and I had 100 percent interests in common,” Herzog recalls today, almost five years later.
Felix’ mother, a single parent and the driving force behind the unusual grandfather-grandchild couple, adds: “My family lives very widely scattered. But it was important to me that Felix got an older, male reference person.” The small family of mother and son became a new family through the sponsorship. “It was good for Felix and it also made my life incredibly relaxed.” And maybe the godfather will also help with my health.