The District Rundschau Christkind helps the brave Leonie from Grieskirchen

The District Rundschau Christkind helps the brave Leonie from Grieskirchen

in Grieskirchen, Leonie Benzer's story ensures great concern. The ten-year-old Leonie not only has Down syndrome, but also received the devastating diagnosis of cancer in March 2024: lymphatic leukemia. The diagnosis came in a day that changed everything for the family after Leonie, who goes to school in the Johann-Mer-Weister School in Peuerbach, complained to her teacher about discomfort. Her parents, Christian and Marina, report that they initially thought that it was a severe flu. However, a blood test at the pediatrician turned out to be a turning point.

Leonie was born on April 28, 2014. Until her first birthday, nobody suspected that she would live with a genetic anomaly, known as trisomy 21. At the age of 1.5, she finally received the diagnosis that changed the life of the family forever. After the current cancer diagnosis, Leonie immediately had to go to the Linz University Hospital, where it was treated for several weeks.

a challenging therapy

Leonie's disease brought enormous challenges. It receives intensive chemotherapy, which unfortunately goes hand in hand with numerous side effects. Among other things, she suffers from vomiting, diarrhea and a weakened immune system, which means that it can quickly injure itself and can bleed more easily than healthy children. Chemotherapy is only the first part of its treatment, followed by one year of the development period until it is expected to be completed in May 2026.

The consequence of the treatment is very stressful for Leonie. Lately, she has had to undergo several surgical interventions in which bone marrow is taken, among other things, to observe the course of the disease. Your everyday life is also severely restricted. She misses her school friends very much, but is too weak to attend school. Leonie used to be an active child who liked to play and play outside, but at the moment she mostly plays alone in her room.

Family support

To support Leonie as best as possible, her parents decided to go into family hospice leave. This means that you only receive 55 percent of your previous income. The financial difficulties force the family to sell a car and to suspend their life insurance while they leave the loan for their apartment. Despite these challenges, her primary goal is to support Leonie in her recovery.

To help the family, the campaign of the Christkind district tour was launched. This initiative aims to collect support for Leonie and her family through donations. Help can simply be provided via Raiffeisen banks where there are number certificates. The association ensures that all donations are taken into account in tax compensation and are assigned accordingly. The parents hope that this support will be able to relieve their difficult life with the disease.