France's Oldest Doctor Refuses to Retire So He Could Still Help Patients Amid Pandemic

France's oldest doctor still continues to care for patients despite the pandemic.

He may be an elderly person, but this 98-year-old doctor would not let his age stop him from providing healthcare. Dr. Christian Chenay is nearing his 99th birthday and has already served his community for 70 years. However, he refuses to retire yet and still wants to help people, especially at this time of the pandemic.

"I can't just abandon them"

Speaking to BBC, he said, "I can't just abandon them in the midst of this virus pandemic. They won't be able to manage on their own."

Dr. Chenay is located in a low-income suburb in Paris, the AlJazeera report noted. Before the pandemic hit, his doctor's waiting room would be packed with patients and would at times spill out to the pavement. People from distant areas would even travel as early as 4 a.m. just to ensure they could get a place in line.

France has one of the best healthcare systems in the world, but sadly, there is a shortage of local family doctors, especially in remote and low-income areas where millions have no access to a general practitioner. And this is one of the reasons why he wanted to continue working.

He said that we have a very contagious disease that is still yet to affect a lot of people. That uncertainty makes people powerless because we don't have a treatment yet, he added.

COVID-19 slowed him down but didn't stop him from helping patients

"Everybody is really scared," he told BBC, "I am very careful." His wife is also terrified, given that she is also a high-risk individual, and she fears that her husband could bring the virus home. "And she is right," Dr. Chenay said.

Recently, he had to slow down and go into quarantine since he was already showing COVID-19 symptoms. Since there is really no way of knowing who is sick and who is not, and because he had been in contact with quite a number of sick people, he said it would be surprising if he remains uninfected with the virus.

So, he had to give up because he is defenseless against the disease. If he hasn't done so, then his office would be a virus hotspot, he explained.

"We are very lucky. We haven't had any COVID-19 cases at the care home yet," he said during his BBC interview. "If someone got the virus it would be a disaster. We don't want 20 out of 60 patients to die."

Despite the quarantine and even after it was over, his desire to help is still burning, as he still continued to work - doing consultation online and over the phone.

He has been through similar tough times in the past. He recalls seeing the typhus epidemic coming back from the war. He said that were very few caregivers who caught the disease. They made sure that shielded themselves, they actually wore gas masks, he said. And while, it was difficult to live through, he said they manage to avoid catching the illness and effectively isolated the sick.

"Thank God we had a treatment."

He does recognize that he should already reduce his activity, especially that he is almost 99. Now he works slower than before. "I have to take care [of myself]."

Read next:

Dad Rides Daughter's Tiny Pink Bike to Raise Funds for Charity and Honor Grandfather

Dying Mom's Live-Streamed Video Shows Hospital Staff Uttering Racist Slurs

After a Suicide Attempt, Missing Mom Was Found Floating Alive in the Sea