Perseverance paid off
« Lucie-Bruneau gave me wings (and the will to keep going…). When others told me that I would never improve because I have a degenerative disease, the Lucie-Burneau team said otherwise, and showed incredible patience.
The words “thank you” are too trivial to express my gratitude to the government institutions and various programs I benefitted from.
Thank you, Brigitte Pelland, my specialized educator, for telling me about Lucie-Bruneau in 2015. You referred me to the Radisson Community Centre, where I met young people who were dealing with the same reality as me. I quickly realized that I was not alone in my predicament, and that it was possible to live this way, and to live a good life. At Radisson, I got back to physical activities, like gentle workouts and adapted yoga, which I’m still passionate about. Not to mention all the other activities, like occupational therapy, physiotherapy, kinesiology, adapted driving, the Grandparents Plus Clinic, and much more.
I also wish to thank the entire team in the technical aides for mobility and posture program. And I wish to express gratitude to my wheelchair, my companion through thick and thin. And a big thank you to the occupational therapists, mechanics, the people at reception, the maintenance workers, and all the others. Thanks to them, I can do whatever I want and go wherever I want in my wheelchair: grocery shopping, appointments, activities, outings, and so much more. I can be a mother and a grandmother in every way. In fact, I’m just a regular person. »
Learning to function again
« I wish to express my appreciation for the people who work and participate in the self-esteem group. I was in a very dark and difficult period when I joined the group. They taught me how to regain my self-confidence. To know how to say “yes,” and how to say “no.” How to steer clear of anything that got in my way. How to express the things that I care about. I went back to my daily workout, which had been part of my life for a long time. Communicating with my children got easier as it did with anyone else I encountered. I started to reach for the same goals I’d had in all aspects of my life, setting timeframes for myself and getting the resources I needed.
Thank you, Karianne Lemay. You were the one who found the tools I needed to become more functional in the place I love the most in my home—the kitchen. And you consulted a physiotherapist so that I could learn how to transfer from my wheelchair without a hoist.
Thank you, Viviane Nhu Tram Trinh, for continuing along the same lines as Karianne, and for everything you did for me. I could never capture it all here. But I will say that I will forever be grateful for the fact that I can now change on my own if I wet myself. This allows me to feel so much more comfortable in social settings. »
