“Days ago, when I noticed, the treatment was already over. Looking at the aquarium, one even forgets everything». The words are from a user of the Oncology Day Hospital of the Hospital Unit of Portimão, who, on Sunday, made a point of being present at the official presentation of the Hope Aquarium, by the group of volunteers linked to the Aquariofilia.net forum and the Teia d association 'Impulses.
After more than a month of assembly and preparation, it was time to present the tropical fish and other species that now populate this 300 liter aquarium, which is entirely the result of the desire of a group of volunteers, captained by Pedro Bernardo, from Portimo.
In the aquarium, in an environment on the bottom of a tropical river, among many plants, stones and trunks arranged with mastery, fish of the species now swim Copper Tetra, Red Phantom Tetra, Otocinclus affinis, Corydoras sterbai, as well as shrimp of the species Caridina japonica e Red Cherry. And there are snails around there too Neritin, which promote the cleaning of algae. It is proven that looking at an aquarium full of life, while spending hours doing chemotherapy treatment, has beneficial effects on the psychological health of patients.
The official presentation of the aquarium, the first intervention of the «Hope» project of the Teia d'Impulsos association, was attended by a strong official delegation, who surrendered to the quality of the initiative, with emotional words.
Joaquim Ramalho, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Centro Hospitalar do Algarve, stressed that this is "a community initiative for the community", aimed at "humanizing hospitals". The aquarium proves, in his opinion, that “when we want, we are able to organize ourselves to help”.
João Moura Reis, president of the Regional Health Administration of the Algarve, for his part, congratulated the community organization that allowed the project to be brought to a successful conclusion.
As for Isilda Gomes, mayor of Portimão, she underlined that “this solidarity movement is welcome and deserved, not only by the users, but also by the health professionals of great quality and excellence, who give their best. ».
The mayor added that the aquarium is, as the name of the project indicates, a “message of hope”, which she hopes to see multiplied in “other initiatives of the kind”.
«When I look at this aquarium I feel a great tranquility. We know how physical healing also depends on mental well-being», concluded Isilda Gomes.
Pedro Bernardo, the Portimonense member of the forum Aquariofilia.net responsible for the original idea, he thanked his colleagues from Lisbon for coming, «who have traveled to the Algarve countless times because of this project».
But he also thanked the “service professionals, because they are the ones who make the difference”. “This is just a little bit of light that we bring,” he concludes modestly.
Luís Matos, from the direction of the Teia d'Impulsos association from Portimão, which embraced the Hope project, underlined that “it is not finished yet, because it doesn't stop here”. Thanking «all the yes we received», Luís Matos let the air show that other similar projects could soon emerge, at the hospital in Portimão.
The Hope Project, promoted by a group of volunteers with the seal of the Teia d'Impulsos association, «arises from the desire to improve the quality of life of cancer patients in the Barlavento Algarve, promoting accessibility to different therapies and activities that promote their good -being and the adoption of lifestyles that enhance their health and a peaceful experience of their disease process».
O kick off this new project of Teia d'Impulsos was given by Pedro Bernardo from Porto, who idealized, together with the professionals of the Oncology service of the Hospitalar de Portimão unit, the construction of a 300 liter aquarium in the chemotherapy treatment room, «with the objective of providing patients who spend several hours receiving the necessary medication, moments of tranquility and something very positive to observe, alleviating the pain of the treatment».
Thus, in December 2015, with the full support of the administration of the site aquariumfilia.net, the project was published, in order to raise the necessary material.
“Several companies in the aquarium industry, as well as members of the forum, offered to help with the offer of equipment and donations for the acquisition of these, including the 120 x 50 x 50 cm glass aquarium”.
From companies and local entities, materials and some specialized services were also requested for the construction of the aquarium support unit, a process that was fully completed in four months.
At the end of last July, a group of experts belonging to the aquariofilia.net forum came from various parts of the country to Portimão, to, during two intense days of work, install all the material necessary for the operation of the equipment. The placement of the hardscape, treatment and planting of the flora, this first phase having been completed with the filling of 300 liters of fresh water, in preparation for receiving the fauna.
A month later, the tropical freshwater fish were placed in the aquarium, culminating the project, which can now be enjoyed by users of the Oncology Day Hospital of Hospital de Portimão.
photos: Elisabete Rodrigues|Sul Informação
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