Kati van der Hoeven (Lepistö)

Born: 25.6.1974, Mikkeli, Finland

Don’t dream your life… Live your dreams.

Imagine yourself locked inside your own body.

Please, let me tell you about Kati, my wife.
When she wakes me in the morning, I bend her body and let her muscles stretch out. She opens her eyes and greets me with a smile. I never before knew a person that is as happy as Kati.
Those of you who don’t know my wife or her situation is probably wondering what is going on here “bend her body and let her muscles stretch out.” Those of you with a bit of a dirty mind might even be thinking, “Is this some kinky stuff?”.
Sorry to disappoint you it isn’t.
Kati had a stroke when she was 20 years old; the doctors in the emergency ward didn’t diagnose the symptoms right.
By the time, they realize what has happened to her. It was already too late for; Kati was wholly paralyzed with no chance of recovery at all.
The only thing she could move were her eyes.
Kati’s body is in perfect condition, and so is her upper brain. However, her lower brain is severely damaged, meaning that she cannot send the signals from her mind to her muscles to make them move.
Did you know that the tongue is the strongest muscle in the human body? Well, it is, and it is also a muscle that Kati can’t move, meaning that Kati can’t speak either.
Kati speaks with her eyes. We have a plastic board with letters on it. She looks at a letter and then another etc. and I spell out the words and make the sentences. That is how we communicate.
Kati is in medical terms a quadriplegic, but that is not who she is.
Kati is one of the happiest people alive.
Even though that Kati is locked inside her body, she still has an untamable spirit that does not have any concept of a border between possible and impossible.
She is an energetic woman with a contagiously positive attitude.
Think of any historical figure that had to face impossible odds. The vast majority of these remarkable people still had some hope to hold on too, a reason to keep the faith.
Kati falls in the category of the ones that even hope was taken away from them. However, they still managed to beat all odds not just to survive, but to strive and to make their lives meaningful and worth living.
Kati lights up the room wherever she goes. Her presence alone has such an impact on people that you can see it on their faces; you can see people reflecting on their lives while looking at Kati.
As a humorous, happy person that she is, you know that at a particular moment Kati is going to start laughing and when she does she warms up the heart of the most frigid person.
Kati is to me; a miracle in human form, because most people in her circumstance would take one of these two options; give up and wait for death or hold on and wait for a miracle. Not Kati though, Kati chose to live her life to the fullest in spite of the circumstances.
For a few years now, we have been working on giving presentations to people who need inspiration and motivation. All without much luck because when people hear about Kati’s situation; completely paralyzed, cannot even speak. They envision a sad and somber person, and they think to themselves, how could this be in any way inspiring.
Trust me when I tell you that it is precisely the opposite; Kati is one of the brightest stars you will ever see, and I promise you that her shine will change your life forever, just like it did mine.
Let us put this exceptional lady in the spotlight and give her the honor, the merit, and the recognition that she is entitled too.
Let us give this gift that is going to keep on giving. Just imagine how many souls her story will touch, how many it will provide hope, inspire, and empower.
I know that most of you that will read this will not be able to help to do, and that is ok, we all do what we can. However, even if you cannot help with the gift itself, you can at least share this story so it may reach someone that can help to give this exceptional lady her well-earned recognition.

Henning van der Hoeven


View all


    tiny 30 IMG_7013 image20 IMG_0003