Serge Laprade succumbed to the illness in a state of peace and gratitude, assures his husband, Daniel Arsenault, who was by his side “until the end”.
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The 83-year-old host and actor was admitted to a palliative care center in La Prairie on Monday morning. From the moment he arrived, he enjoyed “extraordinary” attention from the staff.
The fact remains that his intimates did not see this death coming towards him in such an expeditious manner.
“Everyone was in shock. We didn’t see it coming so quickly, Mr. Arsenault told LCN, shortly after the announcement of his lover’s death.
- Listen to the touching interview with Daniel Arsenault, husband of Serge Laprade, on Richard Martineau’s show via QUB:
“We had just gotten married and celebrated our 50th anniversary. Life is well done. All this was done without thinking about death, without thinking about any problem.”
Ironically, Serge Laparade and Daniel Arsenault were to exchange vows during this year, but the latter’s brother was struck by illness, the ceremony took place last October.
“He absolutely wanted to be at the wedding. We moved it forward a little for him, then my brother died three weeks later.”
Sébastien St-Jean / QMI Agency
No question of stretching life
Even though he was ill, Serge Laprade did not want to go under the knife or undergo harsh treatments to live longer.
“He didn’t want to be relentless or try to drag out life,” insisted Daniel Arsenault. He wanted to leave slowly and feel well cared for.”
Nevertheless, the artist had a thought for his audience, who adored him.
“What pained him the most was leaving behind all the people who had followed him over the last 60 years. I found it beautiful that he thought of his people who loved him so much.”
And his female audience always loved it, according to him.
“At the palliative center, it was only nurses and they were all after him!”
Michel Desbiens/AGENCE QMI
A trying time
Experiencing pain in his groin at the start of winter, Serge Laprade knew that a mass had lodged there. The doctor ordered him to go to the emergency room and he stayed at Charles-LeMoyne hospital for two weeks to undergo a battery of examinations.
“It was only the day he left the hospital that we learned he had cancer of the lymph nodes. One thing leading to another, that [s’est détérioré] very quickly.”
Mr. Arsenault admits, for obvious reasons, that he felt “at the end of his rope” having to take care of it day and night while waiting for a place in palliative care.
“It was not easy with a man who weighed 140 pounds who fell below 100,” says Mr. Arsenault.
Paradoxically, Daniel Arsenault knew on the day of the death of “the man of his life”, Wednesday, that his own cancer was cured. He can only live in serenity now.
“It’s sad news, but we had an intense three weeks,” he assures us. I will sincerely tell you that I feel very calm this morning. This is what he would have wanted for me.
“Our love is greater than tears. I’m going to try to be as great as he was.”