Sitting on the ground, Alain reads the letter from Philippe Chopin, Prefect of Pyrénées-Orientales, brought on August 4 by his lawyer Maître Codognes. “Hospitalization in a service specializing in the care of seriously obese patients”, “visit by the structural engineer of the City”, “work to be done”… The letter specifies the stages of the upcoming evacuation operation which will allow this 52-year-old man to finally get out of his home and be treated. A ray of hope for Alain, who has been waiting for months.
Morbidly obese, he weighs between 250 and 300 kg according to the doctor of the departmental council. A year ago after a fall, he remained nailed to the ground, unable to move, an ordeal that we recounted in our editions of July 21. It's Jean-Claude, his brother, who feeds him and cleans him with wipes. Despite the outline of an outcome, Jean-Claude cannot hide his anger: “Why wait until September? My brother is going to die if we don't come and help him sooner ”.
The prefecture does not plan to intervene without security work. Alain's apartment is located on the first floor of a deteriorated building in the Saint-Jacques district, in Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales). Its evacuation by the narrow staircase of miller is not possible: the only option is to break the facade to enlarge the window and the floor must be supported in order to support the weight of the firemen, the doctors and the material. A complex and risky operation.
"He can go into cardiac arrest at any time"
“Alain should be moved to a seated position with the minimum of movement. He can go into cardiac arrest at any time, ”says Dr Dupré, doctor of the departmental council. The prefecture wishes to "take advantage of the month of August to properly prepare for this medical evacuation operation". Alain warns, however, about the urgency of his situation: "With the heat, I can't stand it," he breathes between two breaths.
“To take charge of it in the best possible conditions, all the teams need to be coordinated. In August, with the summer holidays, it takes time, ”explains Donatien Diulius, deputy delegate of the ARS (regional health agency) in Occitania. Before joining a nutrition center, Alain will be hospitalized in a specialized service at the University Hospital of Montpellier or that of Toulouse.
"It is not the work that is the problem, it is the lack of space available in these services", indicates Joël Perez, deputy chief of staff of the prefecture. Reached by phone, the Toulouse University Hospital claims to be able to welcome Alain, but "not to have been contacted since it is in Montpellier that he is expected". The Montpellier CHU could not confirm their availability. For the time being, only the doctor from the departmental council, Dr Dupré, has auscultated Alain. His last visit dates back to July 15. “Humanly, we are concerned. On the health aspect, we cannot say that the situation is more urgent than a year ago, when we discovered it, ”he describes.
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For Maître Codognes, the brothers' lawyer, Alain's state of health is deteriorating rapidly, especially in the hot weather: "The authorities say they need time when they have been aware for a year, how long do they need it? Nothing justifies waiting for September ”
