Hanneke van Kooij-van de Plassche

€ 7.492,50donated
115%
Goal: €6,500.00

In 2022, my dear husband, Bram, was afflicted with autoimmune encephalitis. Step by step, in the prime of his life, he had to let go of everything he loved. His work as an ophthalmologist, parties with friends and family, sports, and eventually his three sons, me, and life itself. He passed away on February 6, 2025. A difficult journey that he undertook with courage and his head held high. A year has passed. The sun is appearing more often from behind the clouds. And yet, life is forever less enjoyable without Bram; my cheerful, loving husband and father of our three boys. I wish we could spare others this….

Therefore, on Saturday 27 June 2026, I will be walking 50 kilometres for the ItsME Foundation – a charity dedicated to research into meningitis and raising awareness.

Every day, between 10 and 15 people in the Netherlands are affected by this disease. In the case of 40%, this leads to death or permanent disability. The impact on the lives of those affected and their families is profound.

Through my participation, I want to contribute to greater awareness, better research, and faster diagnoses.

Will you support me with a donation?
Every euro counts – for research, for education, and above all: for people fighting for recovery.

Thank you! 💛

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Help save lives with your donation

Every day, someone is affected by encephalitis or meningitis, often with lifelong consequences. The ItsME Foundation enables top researchers worldwide to conduct groundbreaking research into these rare diseases.

  • Your donation helps advance research and projects
  • Increase the chances of recovery for patients worldwide

Participants

These amazing people are committed to promoting more international research into meningitis. Will you help us achieve this project’s goal? Your donation is greatly appreciated. Every euro counts! Below, you can donate to individual people or to teams. You can search by team or by the participant’s name.

Become a volunteer?

As a professional charity, we try to keep costs as low as possible. Therefore, we can use all the help we can get. As Lionel Richie once sang, “Is it me you're looking for?” In other words, if our foundation's purpose aligns with yours, please sign up to volunteer.