With one foot in life

With one leg in life is a novel by the German writer Cordula Zickgraf and was published in 1987. It is about the young Andrea who, as an active youth athlete, loses a leg in a traffic accident and has to cope with the completely changed situation. Zickgraf received the owl of the month for the work .

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The young Andrea Kolb from Neustadt is a very active girl: in her free time she likes to listen to the groups AC / DC and Pink Floyd , but above all, sport is her great passion. Not only is she enthusiastic about everything that has to do with it, but she is also active herself. The coach of her sports club even wants to prepare her for the German youth athletics championships because of her outstanding performance. But luck suddenly falls apart: On the way home, Andrea overlooks a truck while turning off and gets caught in it.

She was taken to the hospital and lost a leg as a result. It will be possible, as it is said, with a prosthetic leg that she can walk again and maybe even run, but it will destroy her athletic career. Not only does this bother the young girl, she also fears that as a cripple she will remain uninteresting for men in the future and will have to live alone from now on. Her friend Michael, who visits her in the hospital, says that he doesn't mind if she has lost a leg because it doesn't change his feelings, but during the holidays he got a job in England , where he has been so far want to improve bad english . Secretly, however, he thinks that it is good to keep your distance first in order to be clear about the matter. Andrea receives a prosthesis for her leg, which, however, causes her residual limb pain again and again when worn for too long. She also has phantom pain again and again, thinking that she can still feel her toes on the amputated leg. Andrea keeps having the thought that she doesn't want to live anymore. She also receives a visit in the hospital from a vicar who offers her spiritual assistance, but she dismisses this harshly. The clergyman leaves her his card , however, in case she is interested in a conversation.

She is discharged from the hospital and taken to Heiligenberg, 60 kilometers from Neustadt: There is a facility for people with physical disabilities who are supposed to be made fit for life again. Andrea initially disliked staying there for a long time, but eventually came to terms with it. There she met the student Carmen Roth, who also had a leg removed because she had a malignant bone tumor . It is still uncertain whether this has been completely removed, there is a risk that the tumor has spread further and the second leg could also be affected. Carmen distracts herself from her worries by learning a lot in order to pass her studies. She confronts Andrea with the truth that she will never follow up on her previous successes - but it is better to realize this as early as possible. This hits Andrea hard, but she soon has to realize that it's true. In Heiligenberg, Andrea finally meets Tom, also a student who is in a wheelchair because he has been paraplegic since an accident . She finds him very nice and is impressed with the way Tom deals with his disability and tries to enjoy life. But in contrast to Andrea, who will be able to lead a more or less normal life with the prosthesis, Tom knows only too well that he will always need the help of other people - throughout his life. The experiences with other people make it clear to Andrea that her fate is much less bad than that of many other people after an accident.

When she has to leave Heiligenberg, it is difficult for her because she has settled in well. Above all, she thinks it's a shame to leave Tom, with whom she got along very well, again. She is going back to school, but has to repeat the class because she has been absent for a long time. It is not easy for her to adapt to the new class, above all she thinks that many people are only friendly to her because she is physically disabled, even if you cannot really tell. The fact that her sister got engaged also hits her very hard.

Surprisingly, the class gets a new religion teacher, Mr Bertram, who turns out to be the vicar who visited Andrea in the hospital. Although she was initially ashamed of having handled it so harshly at the time, a positive relationship developed between the two. Bertram also advises her to pick up a new hobby, such as a musical instrument. Andrea finally begins to play the piano , which is good for her, as she receives praise from her teacher there, who knows nothing about her amputated leg. Bertram invites Andrea home to his family, where Andrea feels very comfortable.

Finally she writes Tom a letter to Heiligenberg, where she asks him if he would like to visit her in Neustadt. Tom is pleased in his answer, but expresses concern that this would cause some problems with his wheelchair. The fiancé of Andreas sister, who has experience in the care sector, finally helps to pick Tom up and bring him to the apartment. Father Kolb, who at first doesn't know how to deal with the situation, eventually grows beyond himself, for example by helping Tom to get to the toilet. Andrea is very happy about the few days that Tom is with them. She notices that she is very sympathetic to him and thinks it's a shame when he has to go back to Heiligenberg. Her father says, however, that Tom can be brought back to you again, that's no problem.

Andrea is now thinking more about her future again. She does not want to continue school until she graduates from high school , but instead wants to train as a secretary after completing the current class. Her father suggested it to her. At the end of the school year, the family goes on vacation to Denmark . Andrea now has fewer problems with her prosthesis. While the family is relaxing on a campsite , Andrea writes Tom a letter. There she reports how she is doing and what her plans for the future are. She says that she would be happy if they would see each other again soon, and at the end of the day she writes that Tom was right back then, that no matter how bad it hit you, you can find joy in life again: “Better to live with one leg than dead with both! "

expenditure

• Cordula Zickgraf: With one leg in life, dtv junior, 5th edition, Munich 1995.