Pia dealt with the illness of her younger brother Tobias in her final project in the subject of project teaching at the third secondary school. It was a very formative time and experience for the whole family. Here is an excerpt of how it all began:
"On 5 April 2005, my family was hit by a hard blow. My brother, who was seven years old at the time, was diagnosed with Moyamoya disease. I will never be able to forget the moment when my mother called to tell us. I even remember that it was on a Wednesday. After that phone call, I hid in my room all afternoon. Because I had to deal with that first. Now imagine you are twelve years old and a few minutes ago you found out that your little brother has an extremely rare disease that probably requires a complicated operation. However, Mr Schmitt, the neurologist at the children's hospital, couldn't tell us anything for sure yet either. It was only in the evening that my mother explained to us what Moyamoya was. This time was very difficult for each of us.
Tobias first noticed a slight tingling in his right arm, and later also in his right leg. But these symptoms always disappeared quickly. During a blowing exercise at school, motor difficulties suddenly appeared. The teacher's description prompted my mother to ask the family doctor for a check-up with a neurologist. Thus, the disease was discovered early in my brother because Dr. Schmitt already suspected moyamoya on the EEG and ordered an MRI. The disease was not yet life-threatening. However, you don't know what would have happened if Moyamoya had been discovered in him a year or two later."