It’s a triumphant arrival that tells it all. In the Parc des Princes, during the PSG 10 km last summer, supported by the firefighters who pushed her wheelchair there, Emma crossed the finish line on foot with a huge smile in the middle of the 12 000 runners, to the applause of the park.
The 10-year-old girl, disabled by illness, has found a way to keep this smile and share it for a year, by participating in wheelchair races, led by competitors on foot. To allow her to continue this activity with them and offer her her “machine”, as she calls it, this chair approved for racing also called a seahorse, the firefighters of Garges-lès-Gonesse and Gonesse launched a prize pool on Internet. More than €600 was raised in just a few days.
The firefighters of Garges and Gonesse opened a fund to offer Emma a chair. DR
“Emma, who lives in Domont, suffers from ataxia telangiectasia, a neurodegenerative disease with major immune problems. There are very few cases in France,” confides his mother, Émilie. “Emma discovered this running activity through an 18-year-old who lives in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (Yvelines) and who is also affected. She tried last year. She loved it and hasn't stopped since. She did 12 races in one year, with a chair lent by the Conflans family. She sometimes does two a month. Whether it’s raining, snowing or windy… She’s up for it! The green cross on June 16, last year. It was his first race. She hasn't stopped since."
These are new horizons that can then open up to Emma, allowing her to break away from her daily routine, school in the morning, care in the afternoon... “And for us, it's always a lot of emotion at the same time. arrival when we welcome our daughter who is walking the last 50 meters of a race, with the help of the firefighters. She is radiant…” “What I prefer is walking at the end” confirms the little girl, with an infectious smile.
Emma continued with the PSG race and the cystic fibrosis race in Cergy, the 20 terminals of Andrésy, the Pisciacaise in Poissy, Saint-Witz a fortnight ago... There will soon be La Rochelle and the World Championships may. There was also the Marathon of Hope from the AT Europe association, which is dedicated to ataxia telangiectasia from which Emma suffers, notably raising funds for research. There are 150 cases of patients in France affected by this disease due to the deficiency of a gene.
Until now, the young man from Conflans is lending Emma his seahorse, which is not always possible or simple for the family who wishes to buy their granddaughter this chair which will allow her to participate in the races. The firefighters of Gonesse and those of the Garges firefighters' association are sparing no effort to raise part of the 6,000 or 7,000 euros needed. “They are people who have big hearts,” insists the father about them. “They pay a lot of attention to her. We were a little on edge at the beginning. She’s a little girl…” “They went slowly to reassure us,” adds the mother. “At first, her classmates didn't believe her. She arrived at school one day with her bibs to say that she plays sports too. »
https://www.cotizup.com/un-fauteuil-pour-emma