At 75, badminton racket in hand and a smile on her lips, Fernande did not think she would be able to play sports again one day.
After having fought against breast cancer, it is an acute leukemia that attacks the sexagenarian, as if fate were fighting hard.
“It was the chemo to treat my breast cancer that would have triggered the leukemia. The treatment of my first illness actually caused another one. »
Fernande (workshop participant)
This is the second time that she has gone to the helper-assisted badminton workshop, organized by the Rural Families association, in partnership with the departmental badminton committee. “I haven’t done any sporting activity since 2019, it feels good, it gets out of the disease. »
Sport to escape
Accompanied by Gérard, her companion and helper, Fernande gradually regains a normal life, and her smile does not deceive. “It was very difficult but when I see her radiant like that, it’s great,” smiles Gérard. “It does me good too, sport allows me to think about other things. »
And that’s the whole point. The initiative – free – of the Rural Families association, conducted for the first time this year for carers and those helped, aims to offer the pair “another way to find respite”.
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“These workshops make it possible to recreate the link in the pair outside of the care and take the helped out of the medical context but also the helper, who sometimes gets lost in this role”, explains Ellen Valy, technical adviser to the departmental federation of Families. rural.
A pair who, for an hour and a half, also takes time for themselves individually.
“They are in pairs, as in everyday life, but they can also each do their own activity during the workshop. This is important in the journey of the helper and the person being helped. »
Ellen Valy (technical adviser Rural Families 28)
Fernande is gradually rediscovering a taste for sports. © Chartres agency
And a binomial, which is actually a trinomial. If Gérard and Fernande have shared their life for twenty years, Adeline, Gérard’s daughter, in remission from breast cancer, also participates in the workshop of the day. “It’s a moment that feels good,” smiles the young woman.
Health badminton to adapt to all audiences
To attract as many people as possible, the workshops are organized during the lunch break. “We try to attract another audience, in particular salaried carers, who often have a very busy schedule and for whom this time slot can be practical”, underlines Ellen Valy.
For his part, Clément Houvet, development agent at the departmental badminton committee and workshop leader, adapts the sports content according to each group. “The activities of the workshop depend on the pathologies. You have to adapt to illnesses,” he says.
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“We start with a muscle unlocking warm-up, then general motor skills workshops and finally, the specific badminton part. Today, for example, we are doing an activity on the lower hand since two participants had breast cancer, so especially no upper hand workshop. »
“For many, these workshops are about surpassing oneself, with great pride too. »
Ellen Valy (technical adviser Rural Families 28)
Next meeting on May 13. A workshop to breathe, in which Fernande and Gérard are already planning to participate.
Practice. The helper-assisted badminton workshops are organized one Friday a month by the Eurelian federation of the Rural Families association, in partnership with the departmental badminton committee. Free workshops, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., at Chartres squash, 12 avenue François-Mitterrand. Between 10 and 12 places. Registration and information: [email protected] or 02.45.26.01.30.
An additional slot is open during school holidays, this Wednesday, April 13, from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. The next workshops will take place on May 13 and June 10.
Laura Alliche
