Laurent Rodriguez was a force of nature. While Charcot’s disease kills most patients in four or five years, this Catalan living in Soler (Pyrénées-Orientales) has him resisted for almost 30 years, with a courage and an energy that commands admiration.
Also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Charcot’s disease affects the spinal cord and gradually paralyzes all the muscles. When France Bleu Roussillon first met Laurent Rodriguez in 2000, he had already lost the use of his body, could no longer speak or eat, and was breathing using an electrical device.
Yet even locked in his body, Laurent Rodriguez was overflowing with energy. Through her eyelids, he could communicate with those around him. And thanks to his right knee that he could still move slightly, he was manipulating a virtual keyboard on a computer. In 2008, the man published his first book, “the desire to be alive”. A second will follow, in 2017, “Beyond appearance … happiness “.
Since 1996, Laurent Rodriguez was also very invested in the association that he had created, the green scarves. Today, it brings together dozens of families and volunteers to support patients with ALS, finance equipment and help with administrative procedures.
A big fan of rugby, Laurent Rodriguez hardly missed a match at Usap. His face had become familiar in the aisles of the Aimé-Giral stadium.
The funeral will be celebrated this Friday, November 5, at 10 am, at the Soler church.