Selbstbestimmt trotz Muskelerkrankung – Wie viel Freiheit ist möglich? | Reportage | rec. | SRF

How do you lead an independent life when you can barely do anything on your own? Markus and his brother Dominik have the incurable muscle disease SMA. Despite his extreme limitations, Markus fights for a life on equal footing – balancing university, his parents' farm, and the stands at the football stadium. _____________________________________________ 🔔 Subscribe to SRF Documentaries & Reports on YouTube now https://www.youtube.com/srfdok?sub_co... 👉 Want to suggest a topic? Then write to us at: [email protected] _____________________________________________ Living a normal life, studying, deciding for yourself when to go to bed in the evening, or going to a Gottéron match with friends and having an iced tea: What many take for granted is a constant struggle for self-determination and freedom for law student and student Markus Fankhauser. “I don’t want to be a second-class citizen, but rather be able to participate in discussions here at the university and be a part of the healthy world,” he says. The 35-year-old and his brother Dominik live on their parents’ farm in the Emmental region. Living in a residential home or care facility is out of the question for the brothers. This is made possible by a close-knit network of family, friends, and 13 assistants employed by the brothers and paid by the disability insurance. Markus and Dominik can call on them as needed, allowing them to manage their daily lives as independently as possible. The assistants’ hands then become Markus’s hands: they press the elevator button at the university, brush his teeth, or open doors. For Markus, freedom also means simply being a friend. He finds it particularly wonderful and enriching when he can spend time with a friend: “It opens up a whole new world. I’m incredibly grateful for that.” 00:00 Intro 01:09 Markus relies on assistance 05:53 Accessibility 07:46 What does living independently mean to Markus? 09:35 Living situation 17:23 Markus and his brother Dominik talk about their illness 24:02 At a hockey match with a friend 30:30 Viktoria's conclusion _____________________________________________ ▪ A film by Viktoria Seger ▪ Senior Producers: Vanessa Nikisch, Ilona Stämpfli ▪ Director: Anita Richner _____________________________________________ This is «rec.»: «rec.» stands for «record». Our reporters cover topics that move people and stimulate discussion. They seek answers to questions that concern them and the community. With their cameras, they go where life happens, showing the world and its people as they are: real and unfiltered. NEW DOCUMENTARIES AND REPORTS EVERY WEEK _____________________________________________ 👇 More about documentaries & reports can be found here: 🎧 More stories to listen to: https://www.srf.ch/audio/themen/mensc... 👀 More documentaries on Play SRF: https://www.srf.ch/play/tv/themen/dok... _____________________________________________ Channel info: The SRF Documentaries & Reports teams report factually, avoid "scripted reality," and are committed to journalistic integrity. The editorial team's credo: We show life in all its shades. _____________________________________________ SRF's Social Media Netiquette: ► https://www.srf.ch/social-netiquette #SRFDok #Reportage #MuscleDisease #Rec. #SRF