It has been four years since the former TF1 flagship weather presenter revealed that she was sick.
And if she hid the symptoms for two years on the air, she finally withdrew completely from public life.
Since then, news of her state of health have been transmitted through Françoise Laborde, her sister, or even Thomas Stern, her husband since 2013. But this time, she wanted to speak in front of the cameras of Woman Current, with her husband.
They both confided in their daily lives as helpers.
To discover
SERVICES
- PMU: take advantage of 275 euros by betting on the Prix d'Amérique 2023
Read alsoFrançoise Laborde reveals photos of her sister Catherine: “Always delicious, always beautiful”
From the start of their interview, the 71-year-old woman is very clear:
“It doesn't ask me to be brave, it asks me to hold on.
Not to crack, not to resign
.
Her husband completes his remarks by detailing more concretely what are the consequences of this pathology called "Lewy body".
It is therefore a disease triggering disorders which are on the one hand related to Parkinson's: motor disorders, tremors... And on the other hand neurocognitive type syndromes: loss of memory, loss of memory immediate, recognition disorders or difficulties in situating oneself.
“She has this particularity, we dive little by little into something very difficult, very painful and then we go back up.
And like on a roller coaster, poof, you go down again, and that's hard to live
with,” says Catherine Laborde.
“Angers, we swallow them”
Thomas Stern reveals it without filter, all the daily tasks fall to him.
"This is the case for many caregivers,"
he says with great humility.
However, his wife highlights the importance of these actions.
“
I realize how complicated it is for him, how difficult it is and how little joy there is
.
But that's how it is, we can only accept it.
“And even if the couple has now found a balance that allows them to move forward and stay in active life, it is not always easy.
"Of course I want to run away...
But I think that one of the big tasks that presents itself when we have between 8 and 11 million caregivers, it's
, explains Thomas Stern.
Reserve, tenacity and endurance are, according to him, the three main qualities of a good helper.
"
The anger, we swallow it
".
And if the couple continues to support each other in this long ordeal that is Lewy body disease, Catherine Laborde admits to having concerns.
“
Fear is the approach of the end, it is a banal fear.
What helps me to hold on and not to resign myself is the importance we have of still being together [...] That's when I realize how lucky I am to have met this man.
My own strength is love.
It's undeniable.
»
