Opération du cerveau : “J’avais un pied dans la tombe. L’opération m’a sauvé la vie.”

“I was at death’s door. The surgery saved my life,” says 53-year-old Arnaud Samson. In 2020, this man from Lannion underwent brain surgery. Two electrodes were placed there. The electric impulses sent replace a large part of the medications he was taking until then to treat certain symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. “At around 32 or 33 years old, I started experiencing unexplained joint pain. I limped a bit while running, even though I was a good runner. I couldn’t recover as well anymore,” recalls this former sports educator, on disability for five years. It was the beginning of the ordeal. The doctors couldn’t find the illness that was eating away at him. “The problem when you’re young is that they don’t look for Parkinson’s disease. The doctors told me it was psychological or that I had done too much sports.”

For six or seven years, Arnaud Samson “loaded up on anti-inflammatories and painkillers to go to work” without knowing the name of his illness. It was in Brest, at a pain management center, that a neurologist finally made the diagnosis, seeing his stiff right arm when he walks. “I had a scan that confirmed it. I have a rather severe form of Parkinson’s.” And the medications generate very crippling side effects. “I was speaking. I was unintelligible. I had cramps. I would fall to the ground. My breathing would stop.”

Over time, the medications no longer worked. The doses increased. Arnaud Samson then lived in hell. He no longer slept at night. “He had addictive behaviors with the treatments. He felt a bit invincible. He no longer had a grasp on reality,” says his wife. “For two or three years, I was disconnected. My wife saved me. I could leave in the middle of the night to go surfing,” adds Arnaud, who had a car accident at that time. “Parkinson’s is insidious at night. At one point, you lose it. I had suicidal thoughts. I was no longer conscious. For two or three years, I was far away.” Well surrounded by his family and friends, he managed to get through this phase. The brain surgery allowed him to escape this hell.

I want to reassure potential patients eligible for the surgery.

Sporting Challenge

Next week, at the pool, he will embark on a sporting challenge “with a longtime friend.” Pascal Mazé, whom he was the sports coach for. “I was very scared of undergoing surgery. There are risks. The operation lasts ten hours. So I wanted to send a message of hope. It’s to reassure potential patients eligible for the surgery. Afterwards, they will definitely be better. You shouldn’t be afraid. I experienced it myself.”

After swimming for an hour, he will hold a conference with Pascal Mazé on Parkinson’s disease and the surgery he underwent. This event will take place on Friday, October 27, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., as part of the celebrations for the 15th anniversary of the Ti dour aqua leisure center.