When Sandy comes into his line of sight, Thierry’s face lights up. “He always asks for it,” smiles his wife Joelle, tenderly caressing the hands of her husband, who is hospitalized with cancer. Sandy’s hands move gently back and forth over the patient’s back. “I look at places where there is tension, caressing them to see if it relaxes them. But first of all, I listen to his breathing. It always gives a good idea of anxiety,” Sandy explains in her soft voice. “There is everything we can say to each other in words. And then there is everything that the body says,” she continues, gently touching Thierry’s face.
At Elsan’s Estrée clinic in Staines, Sandy Boulanger has taken her place on the medical team in the oncology and palliative care department. A somatotherapist, she has an approach to patients “that we are not used to seeing in hospitals.” Through touch, caress and hugs, she helps patients relax and cope with pain and anxiety.
“She sees things that we don’t necessarily see,” explains nurse Camille. Her work helps us a lot because she has that thoughtfulness and time that we don’t necessarily have with patients.”
“We take care of the body, she takes care of the soul,” adds Jorge Ailon, one of the department’s two oncologists. Seduced by his method, he will soon accompany Sandy to present his profession to the National Assembly in front of a cancer research group.
Source: Le Parisien
I am a highly experienced and well-connected journalist, with a focus on healthcare news. I have worked for several major news outlets, and currently work as an author at 24 news recorder. My work has been featured in many prestigious publications, and I have a wide network of contacts in the healthcare industry. I am highly passionate about my work, and strive to provide accurate and timely information to my readers.
