Hilippe Meynard, the president of the association founded AVC Tous Concerns (ATC), created in 2016 after his stroke. “I had a very heavy rehabilitation. I had to relearn how to walk and write,” explains the former mayor of Barsac. It is with the neurologist François Rouanet, from the University Hospital…
Hilippe Meynard, the president of the association founded AVC Tous Concerns (ATC), created in 2016 after his stroke. “I had a very heavy rehabilitation. I had to relearn how to walk and write,” explains the former mayor of Barsac. It was with the neurologist François Rouanet, from Bordeaux University Hospital, that he set up this association in order to compensate for “the lack of visibility of stroke prevention. » ATC is a Gironde association recognized as being of general interest.
She goes to markets and organizes prevention actions in companies. It also provides direct help to people who have been affected, particularly with “stroke cafes”. “There are 85 in all, including four in the Arcachon basin,” says Philippe Meynard, who adds “that in order to prevent life’s accidents it is important to get moving. »
The benefits of cycling
Thus, the association organizes “transversals” by bike. There was the one linking Bordeaux to Mont Saint-Michel and that from Bordeaux to Strasbourg, i.e. 1,300 km. ATC emphasizes the health benefits of cycling. This helps to stay in shape, improves the cardiovascular, bone and immune system, reduces the risk of chronic diseases…
The all-concerned AVC team taking part in this journey to Sète.
G.P.
A testin symbol
The departure from Arcachon owes nothing to chance. The association has a branch in the Basin. His representative, Philippe Duprat, knew that Philippe Meynard wanted to organize a Langon – Sète transversal so “I asked him to leave from Arcachon. It was symbolic for me,” he explains.
Indeed, fourteen years ago, he had a stroke while on vacation in Morocco. He says: “It happened to me at 52, when I was sporty and in great shape. We believe we are invincible. They were slow to intervene. Today I have hemiplegia. I can’t use the whole left side.” He was repatriated “in a bad state,” he said. He stayed six months in the neurovascular unit at the Bordeaux University Hospital before spending another six months at the Jean-Hameau hospital in La Teste. It is for him “the place of his rebirth” hence the symbolic importance of the place of departure.
Beach tour
In 2016 when the association was created by Philippe Meynard, he immediately joined and since then he has hosted the Café AVC (Pôle de Santé, Salle des Miquelots in La Teste, Maison des Aidants d’Arcachon) which are as many “of places of exchange, sharing and support. » Marianne Lavignon, director of the management division of the Hospital, also underlines the pride of the establishment, which has been collaborating for around ten years with the association within the Users’ Center. Present in the markets around the Bassin and Val de l’Eyre, the association also organizes a beach tour in summer. On the occasion of departure, Mayor Patrick Davet said he was impressed “by the lesson of courage” given by Philippe Duprat.
There are therefore five of them who left the Hospital by bike with four attendants in charge of assistance. They will arrive after 600 km on Monday May 13 in the evening in Sète.
