“It was very difficult for me to speak and that was the most anxious moment for me,” Mariska reveals.
When Mariska Bauer (48) suffered a cerebral infarction two years ago, she lost all hope. She is now almost back to her old self and ready for the next step. In conversation with Glamial, she looks back on that difficult period, her and Frans’s recovery and secret.
Bauers visiting
During the shoot for Glamial, the hotel (as is the case with the Bauers) serves delicious sausage rolls and – as if he smells it – husband Frans, who ‘happens to be in the area’, comes to see how his wife is doing as a photo model. His son Frans Jr. was also born earlier. been by for a while. It is clear that since her stroke in 2022, ‘her boys’ have been extra concerned about their wife and mother.
Not that it is really necessary, because after a tough rehabilitation process during which she was confined to bed for months, Mariska feels good again. The wife of the popular folk singer is enjoying life to the full again, going on fun trips with Frans and perhaps exchanging her role as a housewife for a career as a presenter. Because after all those years of caring, cooking and ironing for her five men, it is finally time for herself.
Revalidation
“It’s actually going very well,” Mariska tells Glamial. “I think I’m 95% back to my old self. The other 5% is due to my memory. I am a bit forgetful, sometimes have a harder time getting my words out and I get overstimulated more quickly.” All in all, she is satisfied with where she is now: “I’m just very happy with how I came out of it. If this is it, I’m okay with it.”
That has been different. The period at the beginning of her recovery was especially difficult. “After my infarction I was completely paralyzed on the right side. This made it very difficult for me to speak and that was the most anxious moment for me. I thought: this will never be okay again,” Mariska reveals.
In the end it all turned out well. “The hospital was told that things would get better after a few weeks. At first I didn’t believe it, until I noticed that things were getting a little better every day. After two weeks I no longer dragged my leg and my mouth no longer hung crooked. That gave me strength to persevere.”
Fear and zest for life
Maris is now doing a lot better. She and her family worked hard for this! When we ask her if she is not afraid of a possible recurrence, she reveals that she was before. “In the beginning, yes, because if you start Googling, you are actually already dead.” Nowadays, however, she is ‘absolutely no longer afraid’, as she shares with Glamial.
“You have to be happy with every day you have and be healthy, so we enjoy all the little things in life. These are not materialistic things, but are about being together with the family. Frans and I have also learned not to postpone holiday plans anymore. We just went to Marbella for a week and to Paris for a weekend. As soon as I see that Frans has an empty agenda, we book immediately. I had never done that before.”
This article is part of a large interview with Mariska Bauer from the latest Glamial. In stores from tomorrow!
Text: Anne Tonen | Photos: Dario & Misja | Styling: Pascalle Swinkels | Make-up: Bart Brom
