Jérémi

Jérémi will soon celebrate his fifth birthday.  You have the power to help him as well as all the sick children of Quebec to celebrate many more birthdays!

"Imagine if your child was choking. Wouldn’t you rush to help him? Well, I can’t do that. I can’t do anything… except hope that he will cough as hard as he can to dislodge the mucus that is obstructing his lungs. You see, my son has Cystic Fibrosis. Jérémi is only four, yet he is aware that he is fighting for his life every day."

"Since he was born, the hospital has been his home: he’s had diarrhea, strange allergies, a drastic weight loss and a collapsed lung. When he was 16 months old, we learned that he suffered from a deadly, incurable illness. I thought I would never be able to stop crying, or go on living myself. I had the impression that there was no more room for happiness. I felt death hanging over us."

"Forty-five years ago, Jérémi would probably have died before he turned four. Yet, thanks to research into children’s diseases, he can expect to live more than 35 years! He courageously takes all his medicines, to keep his “little motor” running, as he puts it. Even so, the least little virus could be fatal for him. That is why research has to continue, that is why we count so much on your support."

"If only you could see Jérémi; a funny, happy boy, laughing with his little brother. He is fragile but he’s a fighter. Sometimes he asks me questions about heaven, and I have to stop myself from crying in front of him. I tell him, “Up there, you won’t have to put up with all these slaps on the back to clear out your lungs or with treatments that take three hours every day. Up there, you won’t be sick anymore." Every time, my little darling says to me, "You know Mommy, I want to stay here, even if I’m sick"

"This fall he will start school. The doctors say it will surely make his condition worse. I’m torn by this. What would you do in my place? Should I give him something close to a normal life, even if there is a risk for his health, telling myself that one day he will be cured? Or should I isolate him and keep him at home, waiting for the end?"

"He is only four, that is too young to give up hope! Thank you for helping my Jérémi in the fight for his life."

Marie-Claire Cadieux
Jérémi’s mother



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