Sendra, 56 years old

Eight years ago, I suffered a stroke. I think it's fair to say that, at the time, I was in a vulnerable health situation. Gradually, I came to understand and accept that what had happened to me was a form of burn-out.

The hectic pace and tension I was under prevented me from listening to those 15 days of strong, violent symptoms that I didn't want to see. I was 48, had four children, a job I loved, friends and passions. It was like a stick in the leg that put an end to my race. But not definitively, thank God!

Since then, I've become more aware of the need to prevent cardiovascular risks, particularly among women, as these diseases are, in the collective unconscious, more the preserve of men, and the symptoms and treatments less well known to women.

I've also become aware of my family history, because when you're young and haven't had any health problems, you think you're invincible. So today, I listen, I alert if need be, by sharing my experience.

This accident has taken me to other shores.

That of personal and professional reconversion. After my stroke, I found it difficult to return to my old job. I was able to take advantage of some accommodation. Recently, I completed my reconversion by leaving the world of teaching and education to join the world of therapeutic patient education, with the strong desire to develop better access to care and increase democracy in healthcare. I received training and am currently on a salaried contract with UTTEP 19, a unit attached to Brive hospital.

My commitment to women: a stroke and a long period off work, plus confinement and a long-standing sensitivity to the issue of women who are victims of domestic violence, led me to apply as a volunteer with the SOS Violences Conjugales association. Today, I work with women who are in a vulnerable health and social situation, often due to the violent context in which they live. I work with them to help them rebuild their hearts, souls and bodies.

It's in this fight that I make my own the two values defended by "Agir pour le Cœur des Femmes", i.e. benevolence and high standards, which were already the ones I called for during the intake meetings at my school:
- kindness, to enable all women to benefit from support and care to help them protect themselves and live better;
- high standards, so that we can pass on to the entire healthcare ecosystem our recognized, up-to-date expertise in the specificities of women's cardiovascular disease management.

We've come full circle. I've experienced vulnerability in my own flesh and blood. I've turned it into a strength for myself and for the collective. I feel at home in this fight for women's dignity and health.

Samra, wise woman

40 years old, Corbeil

"I am a midwife and regularly read your posts. We've just come back from vacation and my mother has to go home to the north-east. During the night, she feels nauseous and vomits. In the morning, she gets up and takes a shower. I find her sitting on the edge of the bed, pale, sweaty and out of [...]

Emmanuelle, 41 years old

Company manager, Lille

"I attended a Lalala evening near Lille last night, and the proceeds went to your association, which I discovered at the same time and which resonated with me at an important moment in my life. I'm the proud mother of three sons: my first, aged 13, and my twins, aged 2 1/2. These two little [...]

Jeanne, 70 years old

retired (Marseille)

In 2008, I had pain on walking in my left leg. Ultimately, I had stenosis of the femoral artery. I hesitated before undergoing angioplasty. I was very afraid of the procedure. I was wrong, because 3 days after the operation I was walking normally again. A year later, I had the same problem in my [...]