“With palliative care, we add life to days”

Claire Taragano and Véronique Urtis, volunteers atÊtre là ASP Gard. Midi Libre – K.H.

The association Being there ASP Gard informs and recruits volunteers with its Palliatruck.

Why, when there are a thousand possibilities, do we choose to become a volunteer at the Association for the Development of Palliative Care (ASP) ? "Because there, I feel really useful…", "By need of the other and concern for the other& hellip;"Even more than their words, the smiles and energy with which Véronique Urtis, coordinator of the association in Nîmes, and Claire Taragano, volunteer, talk about their commitment, play down the drama a subject that is still taboo. "People know very little about palliative care and identify it at the end of life. But that's not it", they assure. To make them better known, ASP Gard is therefore reaching out to the general public with a Palliatruck (read box).

"Giving meaning to your life until the end"

"When there is no longer any cure possible, palliative care offers comprehensive supportive care, effective pain management in medical environment or at home",explains Claire Taragano. And it is there, at this moment when the disease is gaining ground, that the volunteers of the association intervene. "There are 33 of us in Gard and we supported 826 patients in 2023, or 4022 visits", specifies Véronique Urtis. A presence, a listening, a word, a smile… "We add life to the days", says Claire prettily.

Palliatruck will be on the Esplanade Friday, April 5, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Midi Libre – K.H.

A Palliatruck on the market Friday

How to raise awareness of palliative care and attract new volunteers available for half a day a week ? By reaching out to people thanks to the Palliatruck, a small truck equipped like a living room where to chat. "We will explain what palliative care is (with a short quiz to test yourself) but also talk about support for the patient and their family, grief support, therapeutic relentlessness and advance directives that very few people know", details Véronique Urtis, coordinator in Nîmes of Etre là ASP Gard. 

Friday April 5, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., Palliatruk is on the market on avenue Jean-Jaurès. Then, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., on the Esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle. Saturday April 6, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., place Henri-Barbusse, in Alès. Sunday April 7, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., parking lot at the refuge stadium, in Uzès.

In this moment of humanity that is created, we talk about our fears but also about something other than illness, people realize that they have had a good life . "You have to give meaning to your life until the end. Of course, if the suffering is too great, the patient can always choose deep sedation& quot;, she adds, as permitted by the Claeys-Leonetti law.

"Euthanasia is Pandora's Box"

In Nîmes, the CHU has ten palliative care beds, and there are eight at the Egrégore medical center in Caveirac. "If each department had them, we would not have needed to legislate on euthanasia and assisted suicide, laments Véronique Urtis. "We open Pandora's box, there have been a lot of abuses in Switzerland and Canada. Can we inflict death, it’s still a philosophical question", worries Claire Taragano.

"With palliative care, we support the living. And it’s very nourishing for the patient and the volunteer", they confide.