A 19-year-old boy with leukemia decided to use his “childhood dream” to renovate a waiting room at Ste-Justine Hospital.
Jérémie Messier was 17 when he learned that he had large granular lymphocyte (GLG) leukemia, a form of cancer that usually occurs in much older people.
Recently, the Children’s Wish Foundation approached him to give him the opportunity to fulfill one of his dreams.
“I had the choice to do what I wanted, then at first I was thinking about a personal dream. I thought about going on a trip with my family, enjoying the good weather. After that, I wondered how I could help my neighbour. Then I just thought: why not set up the waiting room where I waited every morning for five or six hours a day”, explains Jérémie Messier.
He therefore informed the Children’s Wish Foundation that his wish was that the hemato-oncology room at Sainte-Justine be renovated so that young patients and their parents would be more comfortable.
“Just to have better benches (…) the old sofas, sometimes we sat down, we weren’t too comfortable, then I was a little tanned”, says the one who also says he often woke up there. with a sore neck.
A generous gesture that is unanimous
According to him, his decision was very well received by the foundation. “We had several Teams meetings, to find out what materials, what models, what colors I was going to choose, then we came to a consensus, then the armchairs, they are incredible now,” he adds.
The news also delights the hospital staff as well as the young patients who now benefit from a more welcoming space.
On this subject, the young man with a big heart says: “I received an incredible surprise. When I introduced myself, all the nurses came to see me. They all congratulated me, they told me it was an incredible gesture. Then the children even prepared a little note for me: “Thank you, Jérémie” on the wall.”
“It really warmed my heart to see that my gesture was appreciated by everyone,” he concludes.