140 kilometers on foot to Montpellier University Hospital: a dad's journey to raise awareness of pediatric cancers

Alice et les petits guerriers, ont achevé leur périple au CHU de Montpellier, vendredi 5 juillet. MIDI LIBRE – FIONA SLOUS

Les plages du cœur, organisées par l’association Alice et les petits guerriers, ont achevé leur périple au CHU de Montpellier, vendredi 5 juillet. Une marche depuis Argelès-sur-Mer pour sensibiliser le grand public aux cancers pédiatriques.

140 kilometers. This is the distance covered, on foot, by Olivier Brunel, president of the Alice and the Little Warriors association, to raise awareness among the general public and local elected officials about pediatric cancers.

Accompanied by four volunteers, he took the road on Saturday June 29 towards the Arnaud-de-Villeneuve University Hospital in Montpellier, their terminus, reached this Friday. En route, the small troop made seven stops to meet and inform the general public. The first three marked Olivier Brunel by the total absence of anyone: "Pediatric illness is scary, death is scary".

A symbolic arrival

The Arnaud-de-Villeneuve University Hospital, and its pediatric oncology department, was the perfect place to complete this journey. The hospital welcomes 300 children with cancer each year, including Alice, the daughter of Olivier Brunel, was one of them. The association organized a meeting at the entrance to the establishment. The hall was transformed into a circle of exchange with parents who had come down from the pediatric ward to seek advice and support. This trip to the beaches of Occitanie transformed the objective of the association: "I realize the elements to improve. I need to refocus on families and no longer be obsessed with the general public".

The association created in 2023

Upon the loss of their daughter in February 2023, Olivier Brunel and his wife created the association Alice and the Little Warriors. This ordeal revealed, in their eyes, ;the lack of support for children and families. "Doctors are shielding themselves. At 4 p.m. I unplugged my daughter. At 5 p.m. I was asked to evacuate the premises, laments the dad. The hospitalization of a child explodes the family unit, the parents put everything aside and become desocialized". 

Today, the organization supports around thirty families financially and psychologically in Occitania. Recovered and recovering children benefit from camping trips with their whole family or sea trips to observe dolphins. The flagship project, the pediatric end-of-life home, should see the light of day in 2030 in Occitanie. A place with the necessary care, but in a warm setting, without white coats, and with parents under the same roof.

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