Raphael David Oberhuber works as a clinical health psychologist at the children's heart clinic in Linz, Austria, as well as working in private practice and teaching as Professor of Psychology at the Pedagogic University of Upper Austria. As a heart patient himself, and as a scientist, he is uniquely able to empathize and communicate with heart patients and their families and to provide them with expert professional care. He is married with two children and two step-children.Readers will accompany a child with a severe heart defect through a series of difficult and risky medical procedures in Europe and the United States on his remarkable journey to later becoming a man with a unique gift for psychologically helping families with seriously ill children.
The extremely personal story of the author's development, in which he was oftentimes confronted by extreme situations, is followed by an illustrated children's book for families of children who are facing a pending open heart surgery as well as a series of concise and easy to understand scientific articles and, finally, a number of inspiration text portions to help restore hope and courage during difficult times.
Being alive, experiencing life to its fullest, enjoying one's own life in all of its remarkable facets - these are things that most people dream of. Sometimes we suffer, whereby in Western society we suffer at a very high level. Yet, even here, our own singular lives are permeated with challenges, such as illnesses, problems in relationships, mistakes in business, problems at work and worrying about loved ones.