About us

We, the members of the La Pivoine Musicale association, wish to express our gratitude to the healthcare staff in care centres (hospitals, nursing homes, and medicalised facilities). Some of us have, in various circumstances, witnessed the dedication of these devoted professionals, who often overcome challenging situations.
Of course, some patients may experience situations where their anxiety did not receive the response they had hoped for. However, based on the decades of experience that some of us have had—as external professionals outside the hospital and medical field, as long-term recurrent patients, or as patients with multiple conditions—we wish to bear witness and say thank you.

This page brings together testimonials from patients that we want to be joyful, whatever the circumstances, kind, and grateful. After reading these testimonials, is it shocking to fund a massage chair, a vascular transillumination lamp, a coffee machine, a water vacuum, and many other pieces of equipment that caregivers hope for to improve their quality of life at work? It is for you to judge and decide whether, beyond a simple gesture of sympathy...

The Shower for Revenge

I spent a few weeks in Hepatology and Gastroenterology (with brief stints in other departments via the porter service for examinations such as Radiology and Medical Imaging). In addition to the quality of care, I would like to highlight the human qualities of all the staff, whether nursing or non-nursing, day or night shift, still in training or qualified with varying years of experience (and who also kindly contribute to the training of younger staff). Even when faced with difficult situations that require the involvement of several staff members, they do their utmost to be available in a positive atmosphere that rubs off on the patients.
In short, this is a department where empathy and patient well-being are the watchwords.

The Shower for Revenge

2 a.m. after a major chirurgical operation. I am awakened by the nurse, who apologizes and is pushing a cleaning squeegee in front of her. The reason? A patient had turned on his shower (walk-in) full blast, flooding the entire floor. He was unhappy about having to wait for the nurse to come after he had pressed his call button. This was certainly not the best way to make the night nurse more available. She had to spend over an hour on a chore that was really not what she was employed to do.

Aladdin's Lamp

Severely anaemic, transfused in the morning and rushed to the internal medicine ward to treat sepsis that had developed, I patiently endure the nurses' attempts to find a new vein to insert a catheter. Unfortunately, the veins all disappear under the needle. In desperation, the nurses call the emergency services. In the evening, two paramedics enter the room in their yellow oilskins. The one on the left takes a small lamp out of his pocket, shone it on my arm and says, "I can see it. " He pricks directly into the vein that had eluded the eyes and touch of the ward nurses. This lamp, or one of its cousins, is now used in urology and radiotherapy departments thanks to donations to Harmonies Solidaires 2025.

Inserting a gastric tube in the middle of the night

She is young, fresh out of nursing school. It is night-time and she is probably alone, or close to it. And yet my condition requires a gastric tube to be inserted to remove what my body cannot retain. I can see the courage she is summoning in her eyes. I'm not feeling very confident either. But with the right words, having prepared all the sterile equipment, she inserts the tube into my glottis and gently but firmly pushes it down into my stomach. We look at each other. We've done it. I didn't have any convulsions and she didn't tremble. Thank you... even though for three days I will have this unpleasant feeling of a foreign body in my throat and oesophagus.

All hands on deck!

I am in an emergency room where I still have to wait to see the doctor on duty. Suddenly, a scream and a siren sound. I hear a rustling sound like the wind in tall trees, and in front of me I see all the ward staff rushing at full speed towards the psychiatric emergency room to help restrain a madman who has lost his mind. A short time later, the nurse enters, still a little dishevelled from her dash, and takes care of me as if nothing had happened.

The Courtyard of Miracles

We've been waiting in the emergency service for an hour. A dirty, grumbling man has come in with a bag that seems to contain all his possessions. He's talking loudly. He's complaining bitterly about another department that failed to see that he was going to commit suicide. He hopes aloud that it will take less time and shouts for a psychiatric consultation. He smells of alcohol, he smells of the street and decay. The reception nurse regularly comes to see him to talk to him and ask him to be patient. He is finally accompanied, kindly, to the appropriate department. This is just one example of the colourful world that populates the emergency room, often at night.

Reassuring

I can start walking after a week in the ward. The corridor takes me in circles around the offices of the nurses and doctors. On my left I try not to peep into other patients rooms. Still I notice a nurse sitting with an old lady and speaking very softly to her. When they hae a little time to do so nurses may try to help worried patients to overcome their fears. A sense of peace and calm confidence overwhelmed me in my walk.

Arms, Legs... and a Back!

Working in radiotherapy involves aligning the patient's body under the machine's beam. This requires lifting templates, screens and many other heavy instruments all day long. Sometimes the patient himself struggles getting onto the table and needs help. You need strong arms, legs and a healthy back!