Holger on a spa break
Holger hurries down the walkway. He can hear his friends splashing around, shouting and laughing. They call to him, he speeds up, can't wait to feel the cool water enveloping his body in the summer heat.
Behind him is the large building, the Christmas Seal Sanatorium, where children with tuberculosis are hospitalized. For many, it can take up to a year and a half before they can go home to their families. Holger is happy to be here, he has many friends in the large ward. Initially he was at Fjordglimt with the little ones, but he's now so big that he's moved to the main building, where he also goes to school if he's not too tired. Holger likes to walk around the forest on the many paths between the conifers on Krussedullevej, as one of the paths is called. He goes out there every day with the other children. Holger also spends a few hours every day on the terrace, wrapped up in thick blankets, with his head just above the ground, even if it's cold. It's important to get fresh air to stay healthy.
In the basement are the light baths. Holger goes down there with the other children. He chats with the person next to him as they lie on the benches. The other boy comes all the way from Copenhagen. The light baths, along with the sunlight, are part of Holger and the other children's cure.
"You have to get up now" Holger looks up. It's the nurse calling. Fortunately, she's not the tough one who might pull the boys' ears. He and the rest of the group have been playing and swimming in the fjord, but now it's time to get up for lunch. Holger is hungry, luckily at the sanatorium you get good food most of the time. The food also helps keep the children healthy, even though some of them don't like porridge, but they have to eat it anyway. After lunch, it's time to rest. It will be nice, Holger thinks, and sends a thought to his family back home.
