Now 42, Mr. Tremblay has been through a number of storms for the last 10 years. In 2008, healthy and newly dad, a violent heart virus, a myocarditis, makes everything switch.
"Just going in the trash, I was out of breath. After chest X-rays, my doctor sent me to see a cardiologist who told me, "I do not want to alarm you, but you are really in danger," recalls Alexandre Tremblay, describing these words as the beginning of a whirlwind.
"It was my birthday, I was 31 years old and my child was not even a year old. It's a shock. "
After almost two years of treatment and waiting, he finally receives the long-awaited call in February 2010. "You hope so much, this call, but when it happens, you're so scared," he says. he added that he keeps few memories of it, so everything was going fast.
After this first transplant, the Quebec resident will lead a normal life where he will return to work and his activities. There was no sign that four years later a rejection would plunge him back into what he had already overcome.
"It's a big disappointment because you think it's over after the transplant. We have meetings between transplant recipients and you see people who have not had problems for 15, 20 or 25 years. "
After a year on the waiting list, he receives for the second time the call of doctors with the good news. "Today is the day, we have a heart. That's all they say. "
Unlike his first transplant, he remembers everything that came during this second chance. "I remained confident throughout the process. I did not worry, I was going back. Life was not going to get rid of me like that, not after what I had gone through, "says the fighter.
Alexandre Tremblay left the hospital ten days after his second transplant, which may seem fast, but that was obvious to the principal concerned. Because now, his life, he must live it, and quickly. Because there may not be a fourth chance.
"I knew that double grafting was possible, but I also know it's a unique opportunity. I want to show that it is not because we are grafted that we have to stay at home, that it is not a handicap, "he says, determined to move forward.
Mr. Tremblay has since started karate and he rides a bike. He will ride at the IUCPQ Cyclo Challenge next Saturday, at the head of the "Superheroes" team, a name that suits him well.
"I created the Superheroes because yes, I've overcome death, even twice, but my family, my spouse, my doctors have all been superheroes in there too. That's why we'll ride together. "
Only five cases in almost 30 years
Alexandre Tremblay is part of a select group of double transplant recipients who have been fortunate enough to have a third chance at life at IUCPQ since 1993, an exceptional situation, says one of his doctors.
Dr. Mario Sénéchal does not make detours when questioned about his patient. "These are truly exceptional procedures," he explains about double heart transplantation.
Since the University Institute of Cardiology and Pulmonology of Quebec, formerly the Laval Hospital, practices transplantation, Alexandre Tremblay is only the fifth case of its kind. "Since 1993, we have done 361 heart transplants, but we only had five patients regurgitated," says the cardiologist.
The doctor explains that the age and the general condition of the patient play a big role in this type of decision since the mortality risks go from 10% for a first transplant, to 20% for a second.
"It's an intervention where there is more risk. Our patients who were regrapped were in their twenties until their early fifties. Alexandre was a perfect patient, given the courage he showed from the first transplant. There was no doubt, we wanted to regraffer, "says the Dr Senechal.
Currently, the waiting time for a heart transplant in Quebec is between a few weeks for the most urgent cases, up to a few years. The average is around 15 months.
"There are several criteria that come into play, such as the condition of the patient, but also the blood compatibility, the size of the patient, and also the chance," says the cardiologist who will pedal alongside his patient when 50 km of the IUCPQ Cyclo Challenge next Saturday.
Source link
https://www.journaldequebec.com/2019/09/02/la-vie-lui-offre-une-troisieme-chance
