2023-06-25 12:51:00
Maxime will be on the starting line of the Half Ironman in Nice today. 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike, 21 km run. Not for sports performance. But to draw public attention to invasive meningococcal infections (see opposite) and collect donations for his daughter, Victoria. “Six years ago, she was the victim of lightning meningococcal meningitis, and everything changed in our lives…”testifies the dad, originally from Nice.
It all started in December 2016. At the age of 23 months, Victoria got an ear infection. A week later, he was diagnosed with angina blanche. Maxime and Alicia, her parents, take her to the emergency room, but Victoria seems in good shape and her condition is not worrying. But as the days go by, the situation deteriorates.
“Victoria vomits and starts to be limp. She doesn’t want to wake up, even to have a snack”, says Alicia. The parents call the Samu to find out if it is necessary to go to the emergency room. “They replied: ‘As long as she doesn’t convulse, stay warm.’ In the morning, Alicia, worried, decides to take her daughter to the emergency room anyway.
“She was completely debilitated and had a fever of 41°C.” A few hours later, the verdict falls: it is meningitis. “Doctors told us that her life was on the mend. They put her in an induced coma for a week to relieve the pressure in her brain.”continues Maxime.
“We have decided to fight”
When Victoria wakes up, her parents are in shock. “Our daughter, so expressive and full of life, might no longer move a finger. She seemed to have lost her sight.” The MRI images will show that his brain has been seriously damaged. “The doctors made us understand that our daughter would remain a vegetable all her life, remembers Maxime. But we didn’t want to believe it. For us, it was impossible to leave our child like that. We decided to fight.”
The family moves near a rehabilitation center in the Var. “Victoria was no longer speaking and she was being fed through a nasogastric tube.” After a year, Maxime and Alicia hear regarding a rehabilitation center near Barcelona, Spain. There, doctors developed the “Essentis” method, which focuses on motor rehabilitation.
“In Spain, Victoria has made immense progress. Gradually and over the course of the sessions, she is starting to walk once more and seems to see and recognize us. For us, this is a victory. Nevertheless, we know that Victoria’s rehabilitation can last all his life. This is why, two years ago, we created the association that bears his name, in order to obtain valuable support. Because without outside help, it is impossible for us to finance treatment and rehabilitation. .”
To increase the comfort of their daughter’s life and continue rehabilitation, Maxime and Alicia have to go to Spain two to three times a year. Thanks to social networks, the family has received the support of many personalities such as Michèle Laroque, Christophe Pinna, Jules Cluzel, Gérard Holtz or Samuel Le Bihan. “With my colleague and friend Benjamin Mondou [fondateur et président de Century 21 Lafage Transactions, Ndlr]today we are in the Half Ironman to keep Victoria fighting.”
Know +
You can help Victoria via the website: www.helloasso.com/associations/ensemble-pour-victoria.
You can find her story via Instagram: @ensemblepourvictoria
In numbers
Meningococcal meningitis affects approximately 500 people each year in France. It is the most dreaded of all meningitis. One person in ten who develops the disease dies, and up to 25% of those who survive suffer serious lifelong consequences: physical problems (scars, amputations), neurological or sensory repercussions (epilepsy, paralysis, deafness), cognitive disorders, anxiety… Meningitis of viral origin is generally benign; those of fungal origin are rare but very severe.
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