The League’s space, the place of reception and listening

The league space, located within the hospital grounds, is above all a friendly place. Every Thursday, volunteers receive the beneficiaries with coffee and tea… There, we take time to chat if we want.

Huguette Barrier is the site manager. These are assisted by former nurse Joelle Hughes, also a former nurse, and Monique Gorbinet, a retired doctor. They both worked at the Jean Perrin Center in Clermont-Ferrand. But to be a volunteer, you don’t have to be part of the medical field.

Positive word

Proof of this is Monique Allari, but also Alexandra Gauthier, the latest “recruit” who is a business manager. “It’s been on my mind for a while,” the latter says. I made up my mind after my meeting with Huguette, when I received the check from Ambert en Rose.

Thursday is the welcome day for potential newcomers, and is also gym class day.

“We regularly welcome 10 to 15 people,” Joelle explains. They come according to care and disease progression. In addition to the weekly gym, there are sophrology sessions every 15 days, in which 7 or 8 people participate, most of them women.

“We have few men in the league area,” laments the volunteers. Then, once every three months, patients can meet with Melissa, a social esthetician, who provides care for their faces, feet and hands, and gives them advice on how to moisturize their skin, which is often damaged by chemotherapy and radiation.

The League area gained great popularity with the arrival of Ambert en Rose two years ago. “Patients receive a document at the hospital,” explains Monique Gorbinet. This way, they know we exist. We also asked doctors to tell their patients about us. And word of mouth works.

When people have to face illness, volunteers are there to support them the best they can. “It’s an isolating disease,” says Alexandra. She’s marking you. “We’re here to get them back on track and restore their self-image,” Jewel continues. We help them return to work, resume physical activity, to bring them back to real life. Patients stay in space for a year, or longer if necessary. “We give them time, and when they feel better, they fly away a little bit.”

Yannick has been coming for two years: “The gym forces me to move. Since the illness I have not moved and after that, it forced me to come to Ambert because I live 20 kilometers away. Here we find people who have the same experience, who can understand. Because until you go through it, you can’t Of understanding. And after that, it was very friendly, and the volunteers are really attentive.

The comments were confirmed by Chantal: “Me too, it made me want to go out again. The weather is great and we walk around a bit from time to time. It is beneficial for the body and head. “I saw that I wasn’t the only patient,” Nicole adds. Here we discuss problems related to the disease and laugh too. Afterwards, we exchange advice about the side effects of treatments. “There are things that can only be discussed between patients.”