Medical student in Toulouse, he leaves to save war wounded in a hospital in Ukraine: his story
By Quentin Marais
Published on
South. Son South. Narbonnais by birth and medical student at Toulouse, Quentin Estrade, 26 years old, is attached to this cardinal point to which he honors until the moment of crossing Europe.
Since Monday, November 28, the one who is intern in cardiology at Rangueil hospital in Toulouse, works in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine. He transformed his two weeks of vacation into a humanitarian mission. The first half of this journey is over. He testifies for Toulouse news.
The call of duty
Everything was decided at the beginning of November. The association Narbonne Ukraine is created to send humanitarian aid to Mykolaiv. Members ask Quentin Estrade if, as a doctor, he can obtain medical equipment. “I told them that at 26, when you are intern, you are not the decision maker, says the person concerned. The only chose I can do is send my person. »
And power turns into wanting. “As an intern, every six winter months, you have 15 days of vacation. I took them to help the doctors in Mykolaiv. »Quentin Estrade is also reserved for 4e foreign regiment of Castelnaudary.
“There is the mindset on the legionary military side, where the decision makers have chosen to support Ukraine. So for the interest of France, you have to support her“, testifies to the one who recalls that “it was not the French army that sent me there. It’s a pure personal will“.
On the way to Mykolaiv
As the doctor makes his decision, the atmosphere around this town of 470,000 inhabitants located north of Odessa, is more than critical.
“The front was 2 kilometers away, Kherson was still Russian. “ Quentin Estrade then exchanges with the head of anesthesia-resuscitation of the hospital in which he must go. “He asked me if I was sure to come, because the hospital had already been targeted. When you start an intervention, even if there is the alarm of the bombardments, you can’t stop, you have to stay with the patients. »
“You come to help my country, so you don’t pay”
The Narbonnais by birth has already made his choice. On Sunday, November 27, at 9 a.m., he left for a 24-hour journey. Flight Toulouse-Rome, another between the Italian and Moldavian capitals, a bus between the latter, Chişinau, and Odessa in Ukraine. And already two very, very strong beats.
“At the time of crossing the Ukrainian border, I was in a bus of 15-20 people. I was the only Frenchman, so the border guards made me get off the bus, in a t-shirt at 2 a.m. It was -2°C, they felt me, asked me to empty everything… It was a first little pressure! And then I arrived in Odessa at 6 a.m. I took a blablacar to go to the hospital in Mykolaiv. It was a 3-hour drive. The guy who took me said to me, “You’re coming to help my country, so you’re not paying”. Humanly, it’s very strong.”
To the rhythm of the alarms
Barely arrived in Mykolaiv, the young man of 26 years activated. “I showered and I went to work.
It was barely 10:30 a.m., Monday, November 28, when the first bomb alert sounded at the hospital. “You look at your colleagues, you don’t know what to do and you see that everyone continues to work,” recalls Quentin Estrade. ” The first timeyou take a lot of pressure, then you get used to it. »
lighter moments
The front line has moved away. “Instead of being 10km away, it is 50km away. Basically, I’m at Montauban, and it fights Toulouse”, he reports. “It has gone away, but there are still bombings and bomb threats. »
When he has a little respite, the doctor can share lighter moments with colleagues. With always “this contrast” which marked him deeply. “You’re watching the World Cup, and all of a sudden, either there’s a power outagebe one bomb alertwhile three minutes before, you were drinking beers…”
In admiration
If this contrast touches Quentin Estrade, he remains still stuck by several scenes, which will be triggered at the Toulouse, a real “admiration” for the people around him. First with testimonials.
That of Alexandre, chief son. “He told me that his wife and daughter are left to live in Canada since the start of the war. He finds himself alone. He showed me where he lived, and sometimes he sleeps in his daughter’s room. Or that of Yuri, the surgeon. “One day, he wanted to draw me. I told him he drew well, and he told me that his father is a painting teacher in Moscow. Since there was war, he cut all ties. His family is divided, and between Ukrainians and Russians, they no longer speak to each other…”
Limited means
The French student is also impressed by the determination of his partners.
“In 90% of cases, it’s civilian and even humanitarian medicine. The doctors earn 200 euros a month, they have very little equipment. In my hospital, you only have one scanner, no MRI, no cardiologists who do cardiac ultrasounds. Instead of having single-use needles, here, they are recycled. They are placed on the patient’s bed and they are used as many times as needed. I I admire these doctors who manage, with very little equipment, to do a lot.”
Life in Ukraine…
And this recognition takes on even more relief when we come back to the framework. The context. The atmosphere. Considered “heavy”. “You go out, he does -5°C, at 4 p.m. it is black night, 60% of the population fled… You see these big empty boulevards, all the shops closed, the trenches… And despite that, there is a dynamic, there is something. I am impressed by these people who have been holding on for nine months. »
” I will go back there “
The days go by and the links are woven. “I have the impression it’s been three years that I am here”, recognizes Quentin Estrade. “War is terrible. But it welds: when you’re a doctor, you have this coat, it’s a bit around your bulletproof vest. You tell yourself that if you’re not there, nobody can do anything. »
The 26-year-old also draws on the psychological resources of his colleagues, especially when his boss tells him that his “country was destroyed by the Second World War, and on rebuilt it. There, we are still destroyed, but we will rebuild ourselves. On is strong, we won’t let go“.
“When the war is over”
Quentin Estrade, who ultimately aspires “to make external operations with the French army,” concedes. “This experience will make me see a lot of things philosophically. I forged ties, I suggested that my colleagues come to France after the war. Souls he had never encountered before. Like a country in which he intends to come back.
“I tell myself that, for France, if, for peace and for the reconciliation of these two peoples, in 3 months, 6 months, a year, we have to return to Mykolaiv, it will be with pleasure. And if, to appease tensions, we also have to go to Saint Petersburg to treat these poor young Russians who are also being disemboweled, and who are not there, in the end, not for much either, I will do it too. find solutions to reconcile these two beautiful peoples.”
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