Physical problems accumulate for Clarisse Crémer. Victim of hallucinations on Sunday, the L'Occitane en Provence skipper got stuck, Monday January 6, “neck and left shoulder. With discomfort behind. It's hard. Alone, like that, you feel so vulnerable, at your mercy, when something is wrong physically.”she reacted in a short video where her face expresses all her suffering, amplified by the impact of the boat's shocks on the water.
The suffering of Clarisse Crémer, blocked at the neck level
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(CLARISSE CREMER – L'OCCITANIE – VENDEE GLOBE)
Convinced that it was muscle pain, “linked to a lack of hydration”the 35-year-old sailor, far from letting herself be defeated, “a little stuffed with ibuprofen and paracetamol” to continue its journey up the Atlantic. In this event, she was also accompanied by one of the race doctors, Doctor Laure Jacolot: “We made a short videoconference call with Clarisse. In this type of case, we cannot do any manipulation but we offer stretching and taking painkillers.”
Every day, this sports doctor, also an emergency doctor at the Quimper hospital (Finistère), takes turns with her three colleagues so that the skippers can contact a race doctor 24 hours a day. Via self-consultations, they are able to “make an initial diagnosis and give advice whether in terms of taking medication or on the right actions to adopt”.
Maxime Sorel (V&B – Monbana – Mayenne), forced to retire on November 15 following his ankle injury, was able to benefit from remote advice from the medical profession: “At the start of my injury, the follow-up was very regular, I was in contact with the doctors almost every 30 minutes, he remembers. I sent photos, I had to rate my pain out of ten so that we could refine the diagnosis.” Once the assessment has been established, the skippers must put themselves in the shoes of a doctor. On board, they are capable of “do the little everyday things like making a bandage”, but also carry out more complex operations. “Technically, they are capable of stitching themselves up, attaching staples or performing an intravenous infusion”details Dr Laure Jacolot.
Techniques learned during two days of compulsory medical training before departure. “During these days, we are supervised by different specialists, we learn how to react, communicate with doctors in the event of injuries. There is a lot of theory and a little practice. We see how to give ourselves an injection, a dental care, everything you must know how to do alone on board”, develops Maxime Sorel.
On board, each sailor has a pharmacy “standardized and established by the French Sailing Federation”specifies Dr Laure Jacolot. Everything is carefully organized by pathology, from headaches to skin problems. “This allows us to know directly which medication to take”underlines Maxime Sorel.
All sailors also have the possibility of sliding there “their own medications according to their history”, provided that the final list of on-board treatments is provided to the medical staff. Once at sea, skippers can resort to self-medication as they see fit. “The majority of them call us anyway. They know that it can affect their performance”, tempers the sports doctor. In addition, skippers have an emergency kit “placed in the cockpit of the boat”. “Its location is strategic so that it is easily accessible. Inside, you will find adrenaline shots, to give yourself some juice if you ever have a torn limb”, also confides Maxime Sorel.
After 57 days at sea, two thirds of the fleet have already called on doctors, the remaining third – some of which have their own medical team – was required to have a small mid-race interview to ensure that everything was going well. But the doctor can't do everything. Thus, if a skipper is, due to a health problem, unable to contact medical assistance, the latter is not able to be alerted.. Likewise, if it considers that a skipper should stop, the race medical staff cannot force a competitor to abandon. Maxime Sorel preferred to refer to his own medical staff and in particular his naturopath. “We must still recognize that working together with these two staff allows us to make the right decisions”.
However, certain pathologies cannot be taken care of by skippers, “for example in the event of concussion”underlines the race doctor. For Maxime Sorel, anti-inflammatories were also not enough to stop his ankle pain. Examinations carried out on dry land revealed a partial rupture of three ligaments in his ankle. “It's the type of diagnosis that we couldn't see from the boat, because only imaging could give it to us. That's why race doctors can only give us advice”concludes the native of Saint-Malo.
