Glandular fever – I drop out

Jürgen Mohr called me. He had spied a former car dealership near Dresden, in Heida to be precise, that he could buy at a good price. Would I be interested in a partnership? Jürgen had been coordinating the procurement of some important components we needed for our vehicles for a long time. His extensive network of contacts, which he had built up with his former company, came in handy. Jürgen had previously built vehicles under the brand name "Rush" that looked like Lotus Super Seven but were built with sophisticated technology. Among other things, he built the first vehicle of this kind with a 4-wheel drive. Jürgen had invited me and my wife at the time, Tina, to visit the Dresden Opera together with him and his wife, Iris, so that we could look at the possible property the next day. I was looking forward to the opportunity to combine business and a few days' short holiday. Shortly before the appointment, I fell ill with flu, but believed I was on the road to recovery and drove to Dresden together with Tina. After a fine dinner, we visited the opera. Opera music is not really my taste. But together with the building, the lighting and the whole audience, everything created a unique atmosphere that you had to see at least once in your life. During the opera I felt worse and worse. Everything around me began to spin. The real singing mixed with images that simply could not be as I saw them: I was obviously beginning to hallucinate. What was going on? After the opera, I immediately went to the hotel to sleep. The situation was no better the next day. The visit to the car dealership, which Jürgen had scoped out for us, was coming up. I entered the building and everything seemed to move, dissolve and reassemble. I was horrified by the situation and shouted at all the people involved, wondering what was wrong with me.

Tina packed me into the car and we drove straight back home. The next day, a visit to the family doctor brought clarity: I had caught mononucleosis. This is a disease that is not to be trifled with if it is not diagnosed. The only thing that helps is rest. As of now, I had to stay at home and cure my glandular fever. The first two weeks felt like a very bad flu. After that it got a bit better, but work was out of the question. When I got up in the morning, I couldn't even get to the kitchen. I had to lie down on the floor again to continue sleeping. The next time I woke up, I at least got as far as the sofa.
I couldn't work for six endless months. I stayed at home and tried to get well again. Tina supported me in this. Among other things, she dragged me to nutritionists, healers and an acupuncturist. Each treatment brought me a small step forward, but I never regained my old energy. I had to come to terms with my new situation and accept it completely. When I came back to work after six months, my first action was to put my writing pad straight on the table and put my pens in order. That was all I could do for the first day at work. Slowly I had to build up, step by step, to find my way back into life and my work. I had the full support of my wife Tina and the team. However, when I saw the turnover figures and the profit figures, I had to soberly realise that the company was in a very bad state. A race against time began. I saw the situation and had very little energy to act. But action was urgently needed to get the company back on track.
The joint company with Jürgen in Heida was no longer an issue. My reaction had unsettled everyone involved and my failure meant that Jürgen had to carry on alone. He concentrated on building Cobra sports cars. But even his project was not free of obstacles. He was able to buy the trademark rights from Shelby: Jürgen produces with his company the official successor of the famous Shelby Cobra. However, he still must overcome difficulties and the homologation remains unresolved to this day.
For me, this phase was one of the most important in my life. I had to deal intensively with my health and learn a lot about nutrition and relaxation to be able to continue my work. At the same time, I had to get the company's affairs in order.
In autumn, the Rehacare trade fair was coming up in Düsseldorf. I was looking forward to it. This fair was the first one that I could plan completely independently. We also urgently needed more sales.
The fair went very well and I came home strengthened. Then Tina told me that she wanted to part with me. In retrospect, I understand her only too well. She had endured far too much. Far too many times she went unheard. Too often I had promised her that all problems had been solved. It was precisely my failure that put an additional strain on her. She simply couldn't take any more.
At that time, however, I didn't understand her and our separation and subsequent divorce put an additional strain on me. I was very lucky that the company had made big losses during the time of my illness. It is always difficult to settle a divorce financially. But since the figures were so bad, I was finally able to take over the whole company and pay off Tina. Again, it took a few years of building up.

I learned from it:

• Even after the end, life goes on.
• I must fully accept anything that helps.
• Ups and downs come close together.