50 ans de soins - 50 ans d'histoires | Alexia

It came as a surprise. Alexia was in the shower when she grabbed her head with both hands. I couldn't figure out why the pain was so sudden and acute. I immediately called the ambulance. She was semi-dazed, and it was really scary.

At the CHUS emergency room, she quickly underwent a CT scan before being rushed to the operating room for surgery to reduce the pressure in her brain, caused by a hemorrhage from an arteriovenous malformation that was completely unknown.

She had to undergo a second and third operation, one of the longest ever performed at the CHUS! She left the room in the morning, only to return more than 20 hours later! The anaesthetist texted me updates the whole time! My heartfelt thanks to neurosurgeon Dr. Khaled Effendi and all the staff for being so supportive! In the midst of this ordeal, I was pregnant with our second child.

My husband and I are truly grateful that Alexia was able to receive all the care she needed, close to home. She was hospitalized for 3 months, and it was with great courage that she learned to walk and talk again. Every year since then, she has undergone an MRI at the CHUS and receives a cerebral angiography every four years. Alexia suffers from aphasia, a slight right-sided hemiparesis, and attention deficit disorder, but despite all these challenges, she is positive, athletic and full of joy.

- Marie-Pier Lemay, mother of Alexia, now age 10