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  • Melanie Eilert - That's how she rolls

Melanie Eilert - That's how she rolls

18.05.2016

Enjoy every moment and make your own experiences – that is what is important in life for Melanie Eilert. Alongside her political interest, she is very passionate about musicals. How this fact would influence making a movie about her life, which musical actress could represent her the best way and what her answer to all questions is, she tells us at REHACARE.com.

Photo: Melanie Eilert; Copyright: private

Melanie Eilert; © private

Name: Melanie Eilert
Age: 29
City: Hürth near Cologne (Germany)
Occupation: I work in the info center at the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutsch Akademischer Austauschdienst)
Impairment: Spinal muscular atrophy type 2
More about Melanie Eilert (only in German) at: meilert.net
When did you last laugh heartily and what about?

Melanie Eiler: At the weekend when my best friend got married. It was a beautiful day.

What have you always been wanting to do and why have you never done this so far?

Melanie Eiler: I would like to travel. To Vienna or New York. But I’m afraid of all the organization things I would have to do then. And I’m also afraid that my electronic wheelchair might break. This would be a big problem for me.

Which person has influenced you most?

Melanie Eiler: I don’t have only one person who has influenced me. There are so many people in my life. My family is the most important part. Then my group leader and some classmates. But not to forget: my best friend. All of them helped me in their special way to live my life the way I want to.

You have the chance to become the German Federal Commissioner for the Disabled. What would you do first?

Melanie Eiler: Like some other people who took part in this interview, I would like to support the German Federal Participation Law (Bundesteilhabegesetz).

I have an assistant and so I create jobs. And I also work. I pay taxes and social security contribution. It’s simply not right that I have to pay a "penalty" from my earnings for the assistant.

And I would also like to fight for accessibility. The times where I can’t go to musicals because of the stairs should be over.

Gif animation: REHACARE 2026 from 23 to 26 September 2026 in Düsseldorf/Germany, linked to "More information about the Trade Fair"
Photo: Melanie Eilert; Copyright: private

© private

Your life is made into a film: Who would represent you?

Melanie Eilert: I think, a musical could present my life much better than a movie could. Then, Femke Soetenga, an actor from the Netherlands, should represent me. She is a very heartily and sympathic person.

I would like to ...

Melanie Eilert: Be backstage during a musical show.

Which questions would you like answered the most?

Melanie Eilert: The answer to all questions is 42.

What I finally want to say...

Melanie Eilert: Nobody should tell you what you cannot do. Everybody has to test his or her limits. Go out and make your own experiences!
Grafik: So tickt; Copyright: beta-web/Schmitz

© beta-web/Schmitz

What makes other people actually happy in life? If you ever wondered, you have come to the right place. In regular intervals REHACARE.com asks a varity of people always the same questions. What results from that? Read for yourself!

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