Not only as soccer stars...
...no one is as cool as Müller and Robben
Moses, 10 years old, kidney transplant for 5 years
M: "Hello, I'm Müller."
R: "Hello, I'm Robben. We are two motivated and hard-working kidneys who have been living and working with Moses since December 2015. We actually lived with a little boy, but he had an accident and his parents sent us to live with another child."
M: "They gave us another assignment. We were supposed to make the eyes of the child with whom we were going to live shine. Just because the little boy's eyes have stopped shining doesn't mean that other children's eyes can't shine again."
R: "So we set off on our mission in a very cold transport box."
M: "It was so cold and dark in that box. Fortunately, the two of us stayed together, so I was a little less scared."
R: "Yes, you scaredy-cat and you were nervous too. But at least you couldn't wriggle around in the cold."
M: "Ha, ha, ha, very funny. At some point I fell asleep and was woken up very rudely later. Suddenly there were lights everywhere, beeping and so many people."
R: "You might be sensitive. I was just glad to get out of the box."
M: "Yes, me too. But it was even nicer when we moved in with Moses. Oh, it was so warm and cozy. He was already waiting for us and everything was ready for us."
R: "It was high time we came. There were sooooo many toxic and unhealthy things in Moses' blood that we didn't even have time to rest after the long journey, we had to start cleaning up the mess immediately."
M: "I went full throttle and totally exhausted myself."
R: "Yes, that's how I know you, always giving it your all, but remember, I helped you too. That was teamwork."
M: "Moses was so happy that we were there. I won't forget the first breakfast after we moved in. We had a bread roll with Nutella. As he wasn't allowed to eat it beforehand to prevent more poisonous things floating in his blood, he enjoyed it and his eyes lit up."
R: "That was the moment when I knew we were in the right place and I understood our mission."
M: "Robben, tell me, why did Moses' kidneys stop working? Have they been injured and therefore had to be replaced by us?"
R: "Moses suffers from atypical hemolytic syndrome, also known as aHUS."
M: "What kind of thing? I don't understand a thing"
R: "Yes, I believe you. It's not that easy to explain either, but I'll try. Imagine we're playing a game, you're playing up front and you're waiting for a cross so you can score a goal. In the beginning, you might get a few individual or inaccurate shots, but as time goes on, there are fewer and fewer or none at all. You can work hard in front of goal, but if you don't get the ball because the defense won't let you cross, then you can't score. It was similar with Moses' kidneys. They wanted to work, but the storm, where the blood is cleansed, became less and less perfused, so to speak, they didn't get a cross and couldn't clean the blood, so they couldn't score a goal."
M: "Then they were offended, like some of our colleagues, and basically stopped playing. The game got more and more chaotic and in the end they gave up and lost."
R: "You could sum it up like that. Except that the game wasn't lost yet. They were substituted and the two of us were substituted and were able to turn the game around."
M: "Now we're scoring goals on a conveyor belt again. That's how I like it best."
R: "But to keep it that way, Moses has to be given medication every two weeks. He gets pricked for it, but he's really brave and a fighter like us."
M: "Then we're a great match."
R: "You know Müller, Moses has been fighting since he was two years old."
M: "Really that long? How old is Moses today?"
R: "Moses is 10 years old. He goes to elementary school and his favorite subject is sport."
M: "Really? That's really cool!"
R: "Well, it wasn't so cool until we moved in. Moses had no energy, was tired all the time and slept a lot. He wouldn't even have made it out of the dressing room onto the pitch, let alone play a half."
M: "But why was he such a sleepyhead?"
R: "Imagine if you had to train around the clock without a break. Then you'd be tired and listless too. Back then, Moses' little body had to work hard around the clock and still couldn't rid itself of the toxic substances. On top of that, there was all the medication to help the body do its job."
M: "I understand. When I'm really exhausted after training, I drink a big apple spritzer and eat chocolate and get my strength back. Why didn't Moses come up with that idea?"
R: "Because Moses was allowed to drink less than a liter a day and has to follow a strict diet
M: "That's stupid. I wouldn't be able to do that."
R: "That's what Moses thought at first too, but he got used to it."
M: "So Moses couldn't play football with his friends in the garden?"
R: "No. He could only do that again when Moses was on dialysis."
M: "What kind of term is that again? Can't you talk to me in a way that I can understand you?"
R: "Dialysis is a machine that removes toxic substances from the blood. Moses was four years old when he started dialysis. His parents connected him to the machine in the evening and disconnected him again in the morning."
M: "It's really cool. It's like magic. You go to bed at night with dirty blood and get up in the morning with clean blood. And how long was Moses on dialysis?"
R: "When he was four, he went on dialysis and was on it for 10 hours a day for 13 months."
M: "And then the two of us came and took him off dialysis."
R: "I have to admit, we weren't the first to take Moses off dialysis."
M: "What do you mean? I thought we were his saviors."
R: "We are his saviors, but Moses already had a kidney at Easter 2015. Unfortunately, there were complications a few hours after he moved in and the kidney pulled out again and the dialysis continued."
M: "Oh man, how awful. Moses is delighted that the Easter bunny has brought him a kidney and then this."
R: "You've known Moses for a while now and he's really cool. He just said that if the Easter Bunny couldn't bring him the right kidney, then Santa Claus will bring him the right one!"
M: "The boy has a clue and he was right. We actually moved in with him just before Christmas. And he didn't just get one kidney, he got two beautiful ones."
R: "Müller, come off it, you're really embarrassing."
M: "Why is that? We're doing a great job, aren't we?
R: "Yes, I have to agree with you. Moses has been much better since we've been there and he can play soccer with his friends again."
M: "Finally, it's about time. And does he still have to follow this diet?"
R: "No, that's over and imagine he has to drink 2 liters now."
M: "Really now? Barely a liter at first and now two?"
R: "Isn't that crazy? Moses is doing really well though. We need the water so that we can work well. He still has to take some medication, but it's already a lot less."
M: "Why does he still need medication? I thought we were there and then everything would be fine again?"
R: "He's taking the medication so that we can stay with him."
M: "Ah, I see. Very clever, the little one."
R: "Moses takes really good care of us and we get a few cuddles now and again. That's always nice."
M: "You softie! I think it's great when we romp around, run, mess around, climb, boulder, swim, ride bikes, skate, rollerblade, jump on the trampoline or go sledging. Moses enjoys being active again. Now he can do it again thanks to us."
R: "He discovered climbing and bouldering for himself at the Ederhof and also that he's not the only one with foreign organs"
M: "Yes, the Ederhof is great. Great food, great playground, great staff, great area, great program and great concept."
R: "Even the Kaiser came to our last rehab!"
M: "What Franz Beckenbauer? Why can't I remember that?
R: "Not the Kaiser, but Roland Kaiser, the singer."
M: "Oh well, say that now!"
R: "Do you remember what was also really gross?"
M: "No, what was it?"
R: "When we met the real Müller in the Allianz Arena!"
M: "I don't understand. I'm the real Müller or do I look fake?"
R: "You're real, but didn't you ask yourself why you're called Müller and I'm called Robben?"
M: "If you ask me like that. Nope!"
R: "Really now. It bothered me and I got to the bottom of it."
M: "And what did Sherlock Holmes find out?"
R: "Hold on tight. Moses is a huge Bayern Munich fan and Thomas Müller and Arjen Robben are his favorite players. So it was obvious that he baptized us that way."
M: "So now I understand why Moses' eyes lit up sooooo much when he saw Thomas Müller in real life."
R: "Exactly, and the wish of the parents of the little boy we came from has once again come true."
M: "Mission accomplished!"
R: "Ha, you're already satisfied with that? I want to see Moses' eyes light up many more times. Our mission goes even further!"
M: "Mission POSSIBLE!"