“A shame”: they learn the worst news of their lives… on their answering machine

The drama took place in July 2022, but it took several months for Thierry and Paola to regain their strength after the tragedy that affected them and to speak publicly. As reported by Actu Perpignan, the couple’s son died in the summer of 2022, and the circumstances in which they learned of this terrible news are hard to believe. Dahlan, 16, was at the time at the IEM, Institute of Motor Education in Argelès-sur-Mer in the Pyrénées-Orientales. He was suffering from a rare genetic disease, leukodystrophywhose severe handicaps had pushed his parents to place him at the IEM in 2010 in a semi-boarding school at the age of 4.

In 2022, Dahlan’s condition was not particularly worrying, as his parents were able to testify to the journalists of Actu Perpignan. “Prior to his disappearance, he was doing relatively well. It was a sudden death” they explained, adding that “there is nothing to link the death of our son to his care in this institute” since Dahlan would have died a natural death related to his illness. But they still have a big complaint to make about the institute which, on the day of Dahlan’s death, did not hesitate to announce this to them by telephone“via a simple voice message, left on the answering machine”. Indeed Thierry and Paola, then on the plane and therefore unreachable at the time of the call, had the terrible shock to learn of the death of their son on landing because of this incomprehensible decision of the director of the establishment, “instead of asking us to call the institute urgently. Who can do that?”.

The methods of the institute in question

Still according to Actu Perpignan, the behavior of the director of the establishment did not improve thereafter, the latter showing “of inhumanity“blatant.”We requested access to our son’s medical records, which we are entitled to at any time. We took three days to get it. We just wanted to understand what our son had died of, and he left us in complete incomprehension. Ditto for the records of his medication intake”. For Dahlan’s parents, “there is a problem in this institute. Management sees children as commodities. I have received many messages from families complaining about human relations with management. The contempt, the lack of empathy, it came up several times in our ears”. Through their approach, Dahlan’s parents hope denounce this kind of behavior and make parents of young patients understand that they are not alone. They still wanted to thank the staff directly involved in their son’s daily life, “supportive and caring”.