March 13, 2024, is the date Chrissy Schulz calls her "second birthday." She was driving along a country road, on her way to the sauna, when she hit a wild animal. She has no memory of the impact, the helpers who rushed to the scene, or the flight in the rescue helicopter. 

She underwent surgery three days in a row, including open-heart surgery. Acute kidney failure. Ruptured spleen, broken ribs. At times, her survival was in serious doubt. "I was clamped down up to my stomach. I looked like a robot," she says with a trembling voice. But then she thought: "Okay, I must be alive. I may look like a disaster, but I’m alive."

While still in the hospital, she begins taking short walks in the hallways. Giving up? Not an option. "They told me in the ICU that they rarely had someone come that close to ‘goodbye’ and recover so quickly." She sounds proud when she says it.

But another existential worry lingers for the presenter and actress: What would happen to her career with such a scar? Looking back, this fear proved unfounded – her clients remained loyal, and the healing of the scar progressed well. 

That also had to do with the wound ointment that accompanied her on this journey. "It became a dear companion," says Chrissy Schulz. Treating the scar has become a daily routine, even more: a ritual she values. "I love the smell. I like it."

Today, she feels gratitude. The accident taught her to appreciate the value of life; she enjoys every single day. She says she has become calmer since those dramatic events, noticeably more relaxed in everyday life.

In the phase of disturbing dreams, therapy helped her. Looking back? "Not an option." says Chrissy Schulz. The scar? It doesn’t bother her anymore, not even in the sauna.