Serious Request 2025: Lanah with 3FM and 'Spieren voor Spieren'
Some journeys begin with a plane ticket; other adventures begin with a phone call—like this one: Den Bosch, December 2025, Serious Request 3FM with Spieren voor Spieren (a foundation which funds research and aids for children with a muscle disease).
From a Phone Call to the Glass House
It all started in the summer of 2025.
Our contact at Spieren voor Spieren called to ask if Lanah, as a child ambassador, would like to participate in Serious Request this year: a photo shoot in Utrecht and then appearing on some promotional materials, just like a number of other participating children. Nothing out of the ordinary, or so it seemed......
Why did we say “yes”?
Lanah—and we—know better than anyone that the world is sometimes literally and figuratively full of obstacles and uncertainties. That’s precisely why it meant so much to us that her cause—muscular diseases in children—would be given such a large and valuable platform during Serious Request.
The Road to Den Bosch
Two weeks after the phone call, Lanah was in Utrecht in front of the camera with some 3FM personalities.
Lanah loved it and felt like a real princess: a quick trip to “get her makeup done,” put on a dress, smile, pose, and have fun. She was grinning from ear to ear!
During lunch, we struck up a conversation with those present and asked where the other child ambassadors from Spieren voor Spieren were, and were told: “They’re not here today—that’s a separate photo shoot. This shoot is just for the DJs and the ‘champagne kid’…” Our reaction: “Uh, sorry, could you repeat that?..”
A minor communication glitch, ahem…
An unexpected twist, but no less fun. On the condition that everything would be done in consultation with us, taking Lanah’s energy and emotions into account.
Our girl suddenly found herself in the middle of a national campaign that millions of people watch every year—wow!
After the photoshoot in Utrecht, more followed quickly: video recordings at home for the TV commercials, and Lanah was taken—along with a DJ—to a nearby zoo for a video feature. She got to choose the activity herself, to “sort of” guarantee that our little chatterbox would actually stay a chatterbox on the day of filming, right in her comfort zone ;)
As if all that weren’t special enough, we got to attend a kick-off meeting in Hilversum for a sneak peek at the filming and to meet some of the people involved in the campaign. Suddenly, we found ourselves face to face with, among others, Louis van Gaal, Danny Blind, Ronald de Boer, the 3FM DJs, and a large part of the Spieren voor Spieren team.
Quite a nice bonus for a girl who was initially just asked to take part in a photoshoot, right?
Meanwhile, Lanah stayed “true to herself” and told every celebrity
(read: soccer player) that we rarely watched soccer and that ice hockey was the coolest sport of all, because soccer was too slow and they kept falling over without putting up a fight, according to Lanah 2026. Hilarious! “Just like her mother,” my husband would say 😄.
Four days in Den Bosch, one extraordinary adventure ❤️
And then, all of a sudden, the time had come: Serious Request in Den Bosch.
We stayed for several days to get the “full experience” and settled in at Hotel Central. A wonderful hotel right in the heart of downtown. A great base and, to be honest, a welcome place to catch our breath amid all the excitement, appointments, cameras, and crowds. Thank you to everyone who took such wonderful care of us here and shared in our experience! ❤️
The city was alive!
Everywhere there were events, music, lights, the Glazenhuis, and all the people dedicating themselves heart and soul to the same cause. And somewhere, right in the middle of all those people, Lanah tagged along with us as a “groupie.” Our sweet, cheerful, and above all down-to-earth girl. Unsuspecting, friendly, and above all incredibly excited to see the DJ and her fellow campaign kids from the 2025 edition again.
The fact that Lanah had by then become a little bit famous didn’t seem to interest her much at all. Suddenly, she wasn’t just “our Lanah,” but for more and more people, Lanah from 3FM and Spieren voor Spieren.
Serious Request was everywhere—and so was Lanah, really.
Lanah was truly everywhere: on posters, crowd-control barrier banners, digital billboards, in TV commercials, and, of course, all over social media.
People recognized her on the street. They wanted to take a picture with her, strike up a conversation, or tell her they’d seen or read her story.
We could hardly go anywhere without coming across her face somewhere or having people approach us.
From interviews with Spieren voor Spieren and 3FM to an interview with a local newspaper. From participating in activities ourselves to being the center of a fundraising campaign. From posing for photos with celebrities to taking pictures with family and friends who visited the city especially for Lanah. We got to experience it all.
The highlight? Together with Lanah inside the Glass House, visiting her favorite DJ, Sophie. What an experience and an honor to visit the DJs and do a short radio interview with them.
For those who know us a little… We—the down-to-earth, formerly “spotlight-shy” Caioni's, well, there we were!
Lanah had a blast; she saw her teachers, grandpas, and grandma waving in front of the Glass House and got to hug the DJs.
Accessibility and Energy
Behind all the attention, cameras, and beautiful moments lay our everyday reality. Because no matter how special an event like Serious Request may be, a muscle disease doesn’t just suddenly take a four-day vacation...
What you might not see on television are the emotional and practical challenges.
It took weeks of preparation—with both fun and frustrating moments—to find the right hotel, secure a parking spot for our bus, and organize the visit to the Glass House, but in the end, it all worked out thanks to a lot of help from Spieren voor Spieren.
Here’s a small selection of the challenges:
Is the route accessible?
Are there enough level pathways?
Where can we park the wheelchair-accessible bus?
Can I use public transportation?
Can you enter a building without stairs?
Is there enough space to maneuver a wheelchair?
Where can we change Lanah’s diaper?
How much energy will it take out of Lanah (and us)?
How will we schedule her rest breaks?
How will Lanah (and we) react to all those new experiences and situations?
An event like Serious Request draws huge crowds. For someone walking, it might just be a matter of “joining the flow” or “making your way through the crowd.”
With a wheelchair, it’s different: you don’t always see what’s happening in front of you; people unexpectedly step aside or, conversely, stand right in the middle of a passageway; a sidewalk might suddenly end, or a route might be blocked by an obstacle.
And sometimes something is accessible on paper but not at all practical in real life.
These are things we constantly take into account during our outings.
Because, for us, accessibility is ultimately about much more than a ramp, a wide doorway, or an accessible restroom. It’s about being able to participate in everyday life. About feeling welcome somewhere without first having to set up a full-scale logistical operation. And above all, it’s about the feeling that you’re not on the sidelines, but simply part of what’s happening. Not to complain, but because accessibility determines how much of a place you can actually experience.
For us, an accessible adventure therefore doesn’t mean that everything has to be perfectly organized or completely predictable. Above all, it means there’s room to participate—and room to adapt when necessary. It means we can focus on what is working in the moment, without feeling like we have to give up just because not everything is going according to plan.
Looking Back
When we look back on Serious Request 2025, we naturally think of the campaign, all the special moments, and the incredible amount that was ultimately raised. On paper, millions of euros seem like one enormous sum—a record amount, even—but ultimately, such a sum is made up of many small moments from people who want to make a difference: someone who organizes a fundraiser, someone who donates money, someone who shares a story, or someone who simply takes a moment to reflect on a condition they may not have known about before.
All those small moments combined can ultimately become something incredibly big, and we were able to experience that up close during these past few days.
The Glass House itself can really be described in just one word: unforgettable!
To be able to experience this together with your daughter—to witness up close the impact of her story and the stories of so many other children, and to do so in such a fantastic and welcoming city, surrounded by our loved ones—was something we’ll probably never forget. Hearing your own voice back is still a bit of a thing, by the way, haha!
And through all of it, Lanah remained… just Lanah
Amid all the attention, hustle and bustle, and emotions, Lanah thankfully remained, above all, just Lanah. She enjoyed everything that was happening, was wide-eyed with wonder, and of course wanted to know exactly what was going on all around her. The world was fascinating, and she wanted to be part of everything and, above all, not miss a thing.
At the same time, as parents, we had to keep listening to her and watching her closely.
When is it still fun, and when does it become too much? When does she need a break, and when can we keep going a little longer because she’s actually not quite done with her adventure yet?
It’s a constant search for the right balance.
Something you never stop learning as a family living with a muscle disease: “Life happens when you’re busy making other plans”!
You try to take everything you can think of into account and then make new decisions on the spot, because reality usually doesn’t quite stick to your plan. Sometimes things go as you’d imagined, sometimes you have to improvise, and sometimes you just have to let go of the plan entirely. And to be honest, that’s now become a bit of a part of our way of life and travel.
It was four magical days full of fun, connection, emotions, and wonderful encounters. Time and again, we noticed how deeply Lanah’s story made an impression and how special it was to experience it up close.
We are deeply grateful for all the wonderful responses, actions, and, of course, for the record amount raised. But perhaps even more important to us is the fact that Lanah’s story touched so many people, got them thinking, and raised awareness about children with a muscular disease.
Because behind that muscular disease isn’t just a diagnosis on paper—it’s simply a child. A child with her own personality, her own dreams, her own limits, and above all, a tremendous desire to participate in life.
And then those four days were suddenly over.
We drove back home, leaving Hotel Central behind us, Den Bosch behind us, and the Glass House and the huge crowds slowly fading from view. The cameras turned off, the phones grew a bit quieter, and everyday life slowly got back on track.
We carried a special adventure back with us in our backpacks, filled with beautiful memories, new encounters, meaningful conversations, and—above all—a great deal to process. Because it’s only when the cameras are off, the hustle and bustle is over, and you’re back home on the couch that you truly realize how much an experience like that affects you.
That’s when there’s room to look back and realize everything that happened, how many people we met, and how many people, in turn, left a mark on us.
For us, Serious Request 2025 wasn’t just a one-off event that ended after four days. It became a chapter in the story of Lanah Feliz on the Road. A chapter about a special adventure, but also about energy, boundaries, accessibility, and above all, what it means to be able to participate and not have to stand on the sidelines.
What we’d most like to share with everyone reading this:
That accessibility isn’t just about whether you can enter a place in a wheelchair, but also about whether you can actually participate, whether you belong, and whether you’re given the space to take part in life on your own terms.
That a disability may affect how much energy something takes, but should never determine how much you’re worth or how much of a right you have to be part of the world around you.
And perhaps that’s what we felt most deeply during those four days. Lanah didn’t have to stand on the sidelines watching what was happening. She was part of the story. And that’s something much bigger than just those four days in Den Bosch.
We’re incredibly grateful for that.
On to the next adventure.
Because the story of Lanah Feliz on the Road, of course, just keeps going. ❤️
More about Lanah's adventure in the spotlight?
Check: Spieren voor Spieren and NPO 3FM.
