Health and morale are good: In rehabilitation, Mathieu Baumel stays on course

Seeing the big blue sea has the virtue of improving morale. According to Mathieu Baumel, the Mediterranean Sea, visible from the gardens of the Grau-du-Roi Rehabilitation Center (Gard), where he has been living since last week, does much more than that. It invigorates him. On this Sunday, March 16, the four-time Dakar Rally winner, fresh out of the Reims University Hospital where he had been hospitalized for six weeks, took advantage of his first discharge from a medical facility to treat himself to a hearty lunch of rare flank steak and homemade potatoes. I loved it, he enthuses. It did me a world of good to walk along the coast, there were people there, the weather was nice. I had a great time. »

A reassuring moment that the native of Manosque (Alpes-Maritimes) shared with Romain Dumas. The Alès native, barely back from Rally Historic Costa Brava in Spain where he took 2nd place behind Jari-Matti Latvala, played the role of private driver to enjoy this spring outing before time. Highly sought after by his family and friends, Mathieu Baumel even put together a program of visits and restaurant trips! I divide it up to one friend or a couple of friends per day! So that I can make the most of their company, it allows me to recharge my batteries and be at my best mentally. »

Throughout this telephone conversation, Mathieu Baumel has lost none of the determination he displayed during his first public appearance. The laughter is heartfelt, the jokes light, but the direction is clear. The sailor has been transferred to Grau-du-Roi to continue his rehabilitation, which aims to enable him to return to the most pleasant life possible despite the amputation of his right leg.

« I have to attend six sessions a day, between the physiotherapist, the physical therapists, and sports. The physical exercises focus on my upper and lower body, as well as my left leg. This makes for very busy days, from 9 a.m. to 16 p.m. When you arrive, the first thing the staff say is: "This isn't a vacation here." »

 

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Guillaume de Mévius's current co-driver in rally-raid now uses a wheelchair, which gives him greater independence. While he cannot yet place his left foot on the ground, he is, however, able to bend his leg (95% knee flexion angle restored). I feel a little freer ", he confirms. Such rapid progress is rare among individuals who do not share the mental strength of a high-level athlete that Mathieu Baumel uses. I think my mind is a good ally in this period, he admits. But today, I wish things would go faster! But if I rush things, I risk losing time in rehabilitation, and hurting myself. The doctors keep telling me that I'm a patient, and that means I have to be... patient! We're making slow progress. »

Mathieu Baumel or the LEGO pro

Mathieu Baumel will progress there over the next three or four months. To do this, as the expert desert co-pilot that he is, the Frenchman has divided his rehabilitation into stages. "It's not the small events, in the near-immediate future, that we must try to win, but rather the final objective set in a few months, which will symbolize the arrival of my second stage. Namely, walking with a prosthesis and being independent." Then, it will be time to move to a specialized sports center in Capbreton to outline the contours of his return to competition, the date of which has not yet been determined. But until then, the family home in Andorra is likely to be adorned with other, rather special trophies... "I assembled my first Lego car on my hospital bed in Reims. I loved it! I'm already on five Legos. It makes me practice concentration, looking for the pieces, building them, etc." In the period I'm in now, to keep the "focus", it's very nice." If Lego is looking for a new heroic character to inspire young and old, we know a great guy from the real world...

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