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Two-year-old delights with further progressOn the anniversary of Olli's horror accident, the Staub family looks at the “most important thing”
These words touch your heart!
Exactly a year ago, Stefan and Laura Staub left their house in Mexico with their children and were looking forward to a nice day of vacation with the family. A little later her world turns upside down. Son Olli is seriously injured in a car accident, struggles with death – and survives! On RTL, his parents talk about a year full of fears and worries, but also many moments of hope and gratitude.
The Staub family experienced a lot of humanity after the horror crash
“For me it’s just like yesterday,” remembers Laura Staub in an RTL interview on April 17, 2025 – the day of the terrible accident. “April 16th was the happiest day of my life. Everything changed in 24 hours.” Her Olli ends up in a coma after the crash. His chances of survival are slim. The boy is paralyzed, has to be artificially ventilated, suffers heart attacks and a stroke. Nevertheless, the family doesn't give up and fights for the two-year-old's recovery.
Reading tip: Olli (2) now has to practice breathing independently again
Always at Olli's (l.) side: his brothers Julian (r.) and Sebastian!
our.journey.with.oliver
There is little left of their “normal life” near Heidenheim (Baden-Württemberg). The family now lives in Mexico, sells her house back home. Stefan can no longer go to work and devotes all his time to the children. “It’s worth fighting for,” he thinks – and also describes what he is grateful for after such a painful and exhausting year.
“We would have wanted to prevent the accident if we could,” says the father. Nevertheless, he is grateful to be able to experience “this humanity” from friends, acquaintances and also strangers. It helped them understand what really matters in life. “You always have to keep everything together. Retirement provisions, the house and whatnot. It's all just material. It's not important,” says Stefan.
“We've lost all of that. But we still have each other as a family. And that's the most important thing. That's the most important thing.”
In the video: Little Olli (2) moves his arms and legs for the first time
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Olli enjoys a trip to see grandma and grandpa
And the Staubs now live with this attitude, enjoying every little moment in which they feel Olli's joy and love. They go on a trip for Laura's father's birthday and drive two hours to the party. “It takes an incredible amount of preparation and care to ensure that we don’t make a mistake and end up in any dangerous situations along the way.” But all the effort was worth it, explains Stefan RTL. Olli gets to visit grandma and grandpa and play with lots of animals on a farm. He had “so much fun” and was simply “happy”.
Reading tip: After a devastating horror accident! Touching words from Olli's (2) mom
Olli was happy about the visit from his German grandparents.
our.journey.with.oliver
Olli's smile is similar when he finally sees his German grandparents again. Stefan's parents are coming to visit for a month, want to spend time with their little fighter – and remind him of a very special deal! Grandma and Grandpa have agreed with their grandson that “Oliver will come to visit again one day” and then “take them to the bakery and buy a pretzel stick, like they always did when they had Oliver.”
Olli travels to Chicago for stem cell therapy
The road to the next pretzel bar in Germany is still a long one, but the family's hope is high – because Olli continues to make progress. The boy now even manages to breathe for three minutes three times a day without a ventilator. A few months ago it was unthinkable.
Reading tip: Finally the neck brace is off! Little Olli (2) doesn't give up after an accident
Little Olli can breathe independently again for a long time.
our.journey.with.oliver
On June 1st, Olli's birthday of all days, the Staubs want to fly to Chicago for further treatment. “It's a syringe that is injected. There are stem cells in it. They go down into the spinal cord,” explains dad Stefan. “The idea is that the stem cells then migrate up to the injury site and the whole thing supports healing.” Doctors usually only carry out such therapy on adults; Olli “will be the first child there.” But the treatment poses no risks for the two-year-old. The worst possible outcome is that the “lot of effort” leads to “no improvement”.
In addition, the medical flights and the stay in the USA cost a lot of money. The family continues to rely on donations. That's why friends of Olli's family started a GoFundMe campaign. More than half of the target of 1.8 million euros has already been achieved.
Sources used: own RTL research
