Spain’s Crown Princess Letizia was on her first solo engagement aboard today. She was in Berlin to attend the third annual Eva Luise and Horst Koehler Foundation for Rare Diseases award ceremony. Since this is an issue close to the Princess of Asturias, it was natural for her to be there.
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images Europe
Upon arriving in Berlin, the Princess met with German President Horst Koehler, First Lady Eva Luise Koehler and Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit before heading over to the auditorium for the award ceremony.
At the opening of her speech, Letizia said a few words in German: “Good day, I am very happy to be here. Mrs. Koehler, many thanks for inviting me!”
She then continued in English.
“Those who have had the opportunity to approach people with these diseases, we know what their struggle is and what their families go through. We know well how they are suffering for a diagnosis and appropriate treatment. And the difficulty of everyday life, a life project that they are entitled. In Spain there is a growing concern to these patients by the society and public administrations and institutions. A year and a half ago I met with executives and relatives of the Spanish Federation for Rare Diseases, which brings together more than 150 associations, and a few months ago I went with them to the official ceremony that celebrated the Spanish Senate on the International Day dedicated to these pathologies.
“Talking with mothers and fathers whose children suffer from these diseases is to realize immediately the support and attention they deserve,” said Letizia. “And it is a priority in our society greater visibility, awareness and get us all to engage with their daily struggle.
“So research is vital. Vital in the most literal sense of the word. What you said two years ago, Mrs. Köhler: “the more one investigates, fastest growing life expectancy. This task requires specialized and often interdisciplinary teams that are able to share information and experiences, and therefore the benefits of international cooperation.”
With that, the Crown Princess congratulated the winners of this year’s award – Dr. Karin Jurkat-Rott and Dr Marc-André Weber. They have discovered a new treatment for a rare form of muscular dystrophy – the hypokalemic periodic paralysis (HypoPP). With the drug, the medical examiner was able to achieve that two young women who were already seated in a wheelchair, now can walk again.
Recent Comments