At the Louis-Mourier hospital in Colombes, we followed clowns from the Le Rire doctor association who roam the rooms of the pediatric unit to relieve children, parents and caregivers.
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In the middle of the caregivers’ coats, the red noses of Kratère and Mistral stand out. Orange outfit for the first, pink and yellow for the second, the two clowns chain the rooms in the pediatric department of the Louis-Mourier hospital in Colombes, near Paris, an establishment of the Assistance publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (AP- HP). In France, 135 professional clowns go to meet hospitalized children to offer them moments of happiness. This represents 90,000 children per year, and a new campaign calling for donations – “We take better care of a happy child” – was launched on Wednesday November 22 by the Le Rire doctor association.
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In one of the rooms of the Louis-Mourier hospital, Mistral already knows the 15-year-old boy who is bedridden and receiving an IV. He was hospitalized several times for gastroenterological problems. But even exhausted, he smiles heartily. “They’re funny, even though I’m afraid of clowns. They’re funny in the way they talk. It makes me friends at least, there’s no one who comes to see me except my mother.”
The clowns also come to see very young children. There are many in the service. Some have tuberculosis or bronchiolitis. There is also a little boy under 2 years old who has been hospitalized for several days after a major asthma attack. The two clowns start a game of hide and seek, under the eyes of his mother who gradually relaxes. “There are moments that are a little hardshe confides. I admit that the clowns passing by really feel good. When you see him smile and react, it gets better.”
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As they pass by, the caregivers also smile. Clowns have been roaming the corridors of the Louis-Mourier hospital for thirty years. “The fact that children think about something other than their illness helps themexplains Romain Basmaci, head of the pediatrics department. We are able to perform treatments and painful procedures, blood tests, in the presence of clowns which help to make these difficult periods go much better. We have children who are regularly hospitalized for serious illnesses. For them, it provides benchmarks.”
Making children laugh, but not only that, explains Clémence, alias Kratère: “A victory is a room where we felt that we had given a moment other than the hospital.” This is confirmed by Gaëlle who is behind the red nose of Mistral: “I feel like I put my fingers in the socket, it’s my diesel.”
Clowns in hospital bring smiles back to sick children – report by Salomé Martin