Two men from the Quebec region saved the life of a mutual friend who was “less than two hours from death” after several days of dying alone at home.
Last January, Gaétan Saindon, a 54-year-old single and childless man, suffered a ruptured aneurysm while he was in the semi-basement he was renting from elderly landlords.
Doctors say the 6-foot-3, 340-pound colossus had spent “at least 72 hours” lying on the ground when his friends Patrick Raymond and Richard Arteau came to his rescue.
“I remember the smell when we came down the stairs. I was deployed to war and I know what death smells like. That was it. I yelled his name and we heard a growl in his room so we turned on the lights. It was too traumatic for me, I wasn’t able to go see him. I went upstairs to call an ambulance,” says Mr. Raymond, a retired soldier.
Photo provided by Patrick Raymond
Gaetan Saindon and Patrick Raymond.
Richard Arteau therefore went alone to the bedside of his friend in distress, lying in his excrement, his grayish complexion from dehydration, to take his vital signs.
“At the time, I did not think for two seconds. I knelt next to him and all I had in mind was to save my boyfriend.
He also had to help two teams of paramedics to bring the colossus back up the narrow staircase.
No sign of life
Of a sociable nature and always well surrounded, Mr. Saindon had not given sign of life for almost a week to his longtime friends.
“My girlfriend had written to him on Monday or Tuesday to ask him something and he did not answer. Usually, he saw our messages in the hours that followed and there we were on Friday evening. We were very worried, ”says Mr. Arteau.
Same story with Patrick Raymond, who used to chat with his friend Gaétan “at least once a week”.
After four days without news, they decided to go and see what was happening at his house on Saturday morning, January 21.
Photo courtesy of Richard Arteau
Gaétan Saindon has been working with Richard Arteau and his spouse, Nancy Gravel, for several years.
Once in the hospital, the attending physician told them that their proactivity had saved their good friend when he was “an hour or two” away from leaving this world.
Obstacle course
Far from being out of danger, Gaétan Saindon spent several weeks in intensive care, hooked up to a respirator. He accumulated complications in the following weeks: stroke, pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, etc. Doctors also had to put him in an artificial coma to keep him alive.
“It’s completely crazy that he survived all that, hard to believe Mr. Arteau. People die for just one of these things and he got through it. He’s a real miracle and a whole warrior.”
The long road to rehabilitation
Until last Thursday, Gaétan Saindon had been bedridden at the Enfant-Jésus Hospital since the events that could have cost him his life. His body has atrophied, he has lost a hundred pounds, but his condition is slowly improving.
“Every day he has speech therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy sessions. He is treated really well and the staff who work with him on a daily basis do everything to help him get better,” continues Patrick Raymond.
Mr. Saindon’s sustained efforts have enabled him to prove that he could eventually regain more autonomy. He was thus able to enter the institute for rehabilitation in physical deficiency of Quebec (IRDPQ), on May 4th.
Far from being fooled, Richard Arteau and Patrick Raymond suspect that suffering a prolonged cerebral hemorrhage and being plunged into a coma for weeks will leave indelible scars on the man they have known each other for 30 years. However, they prefer to see the glass half full after all the progress has been made.
“He recognizes us, he is able to hold a conversation and his long-term memory is still very good. We are still able to have fun with him and that is an incredible opportunity. He works hard to succeed and he deserves it after everything he’s been through,” says Richard Arteau.
Photo courtesy of Richard Arteau
Eternal recognition
Since he no longer has any parents and the other members of his family are in the Montreal area, Gaétan Saindon was able to count on the support of his vast circle of friends.
His cousin, Yannick Myles, also stresses that he will be forever grateful to “his gang of buddies”.
“Clearly, Gaétan chose his entourage very well. They were there for him and still are today. We can never thank them enough for all that.”
Gaétan Saindon is self-employed and has not received any income for months. His friend Yves Bourbonnais, and Mr. Myles launched a GoFundMe campaign to help him financially.