In 5 months a gym will be up and running at the Hospital de la Paz for children with cancer. The physical exercise it is the best medicine. The healing power of sport is more than proven. Listening to Jimena is a life lesson.
Jimena is 8 years old and is recovering from cancer, something that they face in Spain each year 1,200 children. She and her family are very sporty. “My sister does a lot of basketball,” she explains. Her sister, Carlota, confirms that they do it to “improve health.”
“The sport that I like the most is skatingI was very good at skating but because of the cancer I had to stop going”, explains Jimena herself about how the disease affected her. Despite everything, she hopes to soon return to practicing that sport that she likes so much.
In addition, although he did not skate, during the treatment he continued to play sports, which helped him “get energy”. What better place for it than a gym in a hospital. “Instead of sitting on a bed without exercising and a little soft, you stay stronger and you will have a better time and have more friends in the hospital,” he adds.
“As Jimena says, it is the impact it has on the emotional benefits,” says José Carnero, founder of unoentrecienmil. That’s what he’s going to do in the La Paz Hospital in Madrid the Unoentrecienmil Foundation Accelerator Project.
“Physical exercise must be able to be prescribed,” say the doctors. Philip Reyes, ambassador of the project, also explains that “it reduces the time in the hospital by 17%, something that is very important for them”. He will also draw smiles.