The Great Unpacking Of Love
Part 5

The long-awaited D-day finally arrives. Doctor Hope invites us into his office. His smile and his obvious human warmth stand out against the pale color of the walls. I have often wondered why hospital rooms are systematically subscribed to the trendy sea green verdasse. No need to add another layer to our existential drowning.

Madame Hope explains to us in a way that is far from cryptic what the Ice Age had thrown at us. It’s crazy how his way of being, the tone of his voice, his look inspires me with confidence and that, for the same pathology, I feel a little glimmer of hope within myself. No need to ask her any questions, quite naturally, speaking to me, she said:

“Josephine, you will walk again. How ? I can’t say, but you will walk again. »

The sky of happiness is falling on my head. This little sentence has the effect of a human bomb on my despair. A window of hope is opening. Doctor Hope cannot imagine the whirlwind, the tsunami of positivity that she has just unleashed in me. I feel like an American warrior from June 6, 44, ready to do anything to regain my freedom.

I know that the road will be long and difficult, that my time is limited. Two possible years to try to regain my mobility.

“Josephine, be tenacious and focus on your intensive rehabilitation. The key is to replace a “Golden Conjunction” between you and your physiotherapist. The tenacity of both is essential to move forward by leaps and bounds. We will see each other again in six months to do another electromyogram to assess the degree of progress. Rest assured, I will only do what is necessary, no need to do a complete examination again. »

Phew, I breathe and see Hope, finally!

Six months later, I see Doctor Hope again as planned. Lying facing the object of torture, the doctor prepares the material for a new jubilant Engie session. Doctor Hope tells me about his discovery of Gaume through marriage, his taste for nature and above all his passion for old stones, with a predilection for Orval Abbey and Montquintin Castle. She is full of passion and boundless enthusiasm. I wonder when she plans to start the exam.

“45%. »

“Excuse me?” »

“You have already recovered 45% of your motor skills”

“How do you know? »

“I’m reading it just now on my Engie screen”

“Is the exam over? »

“Yes, of course”

“It’s crazy, I didn’t realize anything”

“All the art of diverted attention so dear to Charles Jousselin! »

For two years, my rehabilitation and oncological treatments will continue with on the menu, far from winning my total approval, short-term hospitalizations, oncological day hospital, sterile room alternating with feedback from my family. I am fortunate to benefit from the major advances that modern medicine can offer me.

The end of treatment is progressing quickly. Before square one, it is imperative that I see Dr. Hope again. After many months of rehabilitation, I feel much more stable on my legs, in terms of my hands, I went from the Large section to CM1. I am more independent in my daily life and I have even been able to enjoy driving my car again.

We take the same ones and start again, new appointment with Doctor Hope. This time, the voluble queen of the volts launches into her passion for ancient Egypt. His heart swings between Ramses II, Tutankhamun, Cleopatra, Khufu and Akhenaten. She is full of praise for the Valley of the Kings, the temple of Abu Simbel, the pyramid of Khufu. She gets absolutely electrified when she talks to me about male/female equality, a totally unique status in the ancient world. I feel her under high tension. She loses her common thread. She’s in full overdrive and I’m afraid she’s going to freak out.

— Yes, yes, yes, 80%. Wow, Hooray, Joséphine, you made it!

My word, but Doctor Hope is losing his temper.

« 45 %. »

« Pardon ? »

— You realize that you have recovered 80% of your motor functions.

I struggle to realize what I have just understood. I am overjoyed and tears well up in my eyes. What incredible and beneficial news! A weight instantly lifts from my body. All my tensions disappear. The smile and sparkling look of my neurologist with hope set my heart on fire. She savors my great victory in the face of disability and my tenacity in the face of adversity through a twist of fate. We are at the zenith of winning and humanity.

On June 4, 2012, my life coach announced to me the end of my treatment protocol. I can not believe it. Finished, finished? Am I free? It’s amazing how we sick people hang on the lips of our respective gurus, we drink in their words. Our moods depend on what they will tell us. A bit as if they were playing yo-yo with our psyche.

I am finally getting back on track with my life. I let myself slide happily into everyday life and reality. The dishes, the vacuuming, the laundry, the cooking, the cleaning are mine! But what happiness!

An important step too, the resumption of my work which puts me back on track. I become Madame Everyone again, I go unnoticed and am no longer the center of the world. I have the illusion of no longer being sick. My family life is slowly rebuilding itself. But I’m not the same anymore. Having come so close to death makes me get to the point. I savor every moment, every day. Living in the present moment takes on its full meaning, thank you Horace! Nature amazes me and brings me fullness and serenity. In more difficult times, I, the atheist, sometimes take refuge in a chapel in the heart of the forest or listen to Gregorian chants in an abbey. The atmosphere of these places transports me and soothes me. One day, during a discussion with a highly spiritual friend, he said to me: “You know, Joséphine, you have discovered spirituality and it is not always tinged with religion”.