To break the monotony of care, the pediatric department of the Antoine-Béclère hospital (AP-HP) emphasizes sports and fun activities. Immersion with the little athletes, during an Olympic animation.
It takes up all the space in the corridors. Carried at arm’s length, the enormous stuffed toy of Oly the Phryge, one of the mascots of the Paris 2024 Games, causes a sensation on every floor. “Our donors have been generous”smiles Pierre-Henri Goulden, from the association Du Sport et plus, which is co-organizing an Olympic event at the Antoine-Béclère hospital (AP-HP) in Clamart (Hauts-de-Seine), this morning of Wednesday, August 7. At the sight of the big “red comforter”the children gathered in the playroom of the pediatric ward do not hide their excitement.
“Who wants a picture with her?”a nurse says to the little patients, who don’t need to be asked twice. Most of them have come for tests or minor care, and will only stay one day at the hospital. Before her lumbar puncture, Alyah, 5, is more focused than ever on her game. With diligence, she aims at the hole drilled in a board, trying to throw small bags of sand into it. With her foot just over the limit, the little girl scores points to the applause of the room. “Careful, it looks like you’re cheating!”points out Olivia, her mother, triggering a burst of mischievous laughter.
Alyah, 5, participates with her father in a table football match, one of the events of the day. (PAULINE GAUER / FRANCEINFO)
“Despite her two chemotherapies, she is a fighter”Olivia continues proudly. The days “where it’s going well”Alyah loves to ride her bike and move around in all directions. “On the other hand, she hates losing!”warns her mother. After a month of hospitalization in March, the little girl is being treated at home. Which does not prevent her parents from pushing her to get active. “Sport is important for the healing of our children. We want them to get back to their former health, to be in Olympic shape even.”Olivia completes. After her performance, Alyah is allowed to go and get a prize. But here she is already off on another activity.
On the day’s program, the children have the choice between table football, target shooting or even decorating objects in the colors of the Olympic Games. It is at this workshop that Léo, 9 years old, carefully draws on a white cap. He is not a sports fan, “more musical comedy and singing”but the Olympic entertainment still brightens up his morning. “It’s good to do more artistic things too”the young boy points out. Around him, several hospital employees took a short break to put on their accessories adorned with the Olympic rings. “The games room is our Club France!”jokes one of them.
In total, “more than 20,000 children benefit from our help each year”explains Pierre-Henri Goulden, a volunteer for Du Sport et plus. Across France, the association provides non-medical equipment to 32 hospital departments. Televisions, toys, strollers, books, furniture… “We provide everything necessary to live a child’s life”he sums up. The Clamart hospital was the first to have received volunteers within its walls, around ten years ago. “Since then, the assistance has diversified considerably”rejoices Pierre-Henri Goulden.
Pierre-Henri Goulden, a volunteer at the association Du Sport et plus, frequently works with sick children. (PAULINE GAUER / FRANCEINFO)
In addition to this material assistance, the association brings in sports figures to the various departments. The Clamart hospital is, for example, proud to have welcomed tennis player Paul-Henri Mathieu, as well as racing drivers Margot Laffite and Kévin Estre. “We also offer outings for children, to Roland-Garros or during car races”adds Pierre-Henri Goulden. On the occasion of the Olympic Games, a small group was recently able to attend the gymnastics, athletics and beach volleyball events. “A magical moment” for young people and their parents, says the volunteer.
“We are receiving more and more requests from hospitals to help them develop sport in their countries. It is an issue that is really starting to take hold.”
Pierre-Henri Goulden, volunteer for the association Du Sport et plus
to franceinfo
Sports workshops are also offered to hospitalized children. In Clamart, they take place on Tuesday afternoons, as part of the adapted physical activity program in pediatrics (Apap). “Thanks to sport, we also work on the children’s self-confidence, explains Pierre-Henri Goulden. Feeling capable is a boost for morale and for fitness in general.”
Under the Olympic decorations hung for the occasion, the points keep coming for Matteo, 11, who faces his mother in a game of scratch ball shooting. Very enthusiastic, he throws with such desire that he ends up knocking over the fabric target. “Your turn! Let’s see if you can beat me!”he challenges after putting the installation in order. A good sport, Sandrine, the mother, does her best to aim for the areas that bring the most points. “In our family, sport and competition are very important”she confides. Despite a slight growth delay, Matteo is very invested in judo. Which has also led him to meet Olympic stars.
“I sometimes train at Joan-Benjamin Gaba’s club”he reveals with pride. In order not to miss any of the matches of the French judoka, silver and then gold medalist in the team, Matteo and his family even went to one of the Parisian fan zones. “On the big screen it was great, remembers Sandrine. There were no cuts, we were able to watch absolutely every fight.” From these duels, Matteo didn’t miss a single crumb. As a bonus, he was even able to spot “special techniques”, which he intends to reproduce on the tatamis when he returns to school.
One of the prizes offered to patients at the Antoine-Béclère hospital in Clamart. (PAULINE GAUER / FRANCEINFO)
With a Paris 2024 T-shirt on her shoulders, Anne-Marie Petit, an educator in the pediatrics department, doesn’t know where to turn. A prize to distribute here, a child to straighten up there: the Olympics take a lot of energy from her. “It is extremely important for us to break with the monotony and solitude of the rooms, she insists. The workshops also allow us to work on skill, balance, team spirit… It’s a whole.” Thanks to the activities, the medical team also has the opportunity to discuss with families the importance of physical activity. “The goal is to encourage them to reproduce these gestures at home”specifies the specialist educator.
“We can adapt absolutely everything in sport. A child is in a wheelchair? It doesn’t matter, we’re switching to the Paralympic Games!”
Anne-Marie Petit, educator in the pediatric department of the Antoine-Béclère hospital (AP-HP)
to franceinfo
Proof that these activities are appreciated, “Many children do not want to leave the hospital once they have been to the playroom”smiles Anne-Marie Petit. Between her legs, several patients are running off for the last challenge of the day: a treasure hunt through the department. With the help of the caregivers or their parents, they will all come back with the three rectangles of colored paper needed to make the French flag.
Anne-Marie Petit, an educator at the Antoine-Béclère hospital, emphasizes the importance of sport for the healing and well-being of children. (PAULINE GAUER / FRANCEINFO)
After the presentation of gifts, not forgetting the gold medals for all participants, it is already time to return to your room. “With all this, we almost forgot that we were in the hospital.”jokes one of the mothers present. In a corner of the room, a screen is showing a diving event, after the morning’s athletics races. Enough to keep company for the Phryge stuffed animal, donated to the hospital, which should delight the young patients well beyond the Paris 2024 Games.
