“Do you want me to pinch you? Jeanne Carrière has mischievous eyes and a victorious smile. The 27-year-old quadriplegic has just regained the use of her hands thanks to a new nerve transfer surgery at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal. Since then, she friendly grabs the arms of people she meets. And pinches herself to believe it.
“Sometimes I forget that I’m quadriplegic, I think I’m paraplegic! she said, rolling her manual chair with her arms.
His brain is getting used to its new connections so that [les mouvements] become more and more fluid
On this cold February day, Jeanne Carrière is as luminous as the rays of the winter sun that bathe her dining room. Since December, she has been living in adapted accommodation in the old garage of her parents’ house in Lachute. The view is magnificent: tall maple trees surround the sugar shack of yesteryear.
This is the third time that The duty met Jeanne Carrière since her nerve transfer operation, performed at the end of July. The young woman is the tenth in Quebec to benefit from this intervention, but the first to be revealed to the general public.
Thanks to her new hands, Jeanne accomplishes “little miracles” every day. “I made a risotto with my boyfriend [durant le temps des Fêtes], and I cut all the mushrooms with a big chef’s knife,” she says proudly. She also prepares her espresso coffee and pours milk into it — after uncorking and lifting a two-litre carton on her own.
But above all, she got back to work. The young screenwriter in cinema was selected this year among the seven finalists of “Cours crire ton court – 100% regional edition”, a competition organized in particular by the Society for the Development of Cultural Enterprises (SODEC). She types at the computer with her knuckles. “My goal was to write like my mother: just with the index fingers! she said laughing. But it goes faster that way. »
His progress remains unexpected. Because his life changed on December 15, 2021. That day, it was stormy. Outside and inside. Depressed, she tried to end her life. She survived, but not without consequences. His cervical vertebrae were fractured, and his spinal cord damaged. Plunged into a coma, she woke up quadriplegic, paralyzed in the legs, trunk and arms. But with all his head. At 26 years old.
Revive the muscles
Hospitalized for several months at Sacré-Coeur Hospital, Jeanne began her rehabilitation at the Gingras-Lindsay-de-Montréal Rehabilitation Institute (IRGLM). This is where the Drs Dominique Tremblay and Élie Boghossian, plastic surgeons in Maisonneuve-Rosemont, spoke to him about nerve transfers. Since September 2019, the two doctors have been developing this innovative approach, as do other specialists, particularly in the United States and Australia.
Jeanne was interested in the adventure. His case was assessed by a multidisciplinary team, made up of doctors, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and a psychologist practicing at the hospital or at the IRGLM. She qualified.
The operation lasted approximately nine hours and mobilized around ten people. The Drs Tremblay and Boghossian worked simultaneously, each operating a forearm. Their mission? Divert active nerves and connect them to nearby inactive nerves, so that the electrical current — the nerve impulse — travels back from the brain to the paralyzed muscles.
“It’s very meticulous work. You have to go find the small nerve branches which are power lines and not large cables, ”illustrates the DD Tremblay. Tendon transfers were also performed on Jeanne’s left forearm to give her more strength.
Seven months later, the doctors concluded that it was a success. According to them, the mobility of his hands will improve further over the next year. Eventually, Jeanne should lift a weight “of about 2, maximum 3 kilos”, specifies the DD Tremblay. But it will be necessary to continue to do physiotherapy and occupational therapy exercises. “There is a side of cerebral plasticity: his brain is getting used to its new connections so that [les mouvements] become more and more fluid and natural,” she says.
One step back to move forward
Recovery after the operation remains difficult. The patients, who had gained autonomy during their rehabilitation before the surgery, have the impression of stepping back. “But it’s really transitory”, assures the DD Tremblay.
Joan found tough » the nine weeks when she was « not badly bedridden ». “I felt claustrophobic, because I was completely paralyzed,” she says. The former lifeguard and swimming instructor gained weight during this period. Nothing to help self-esteem, she points out.
The duty met her soon after, in October. She then rolled in a manual wheelchair, as before the operation. Flirtatious and proud, she wore a black tuque to camouflage her “porcupine” hair regrowth (she lost a lot of it after the event). Using an eyeliner, she had made up her eyes. The perfect black line aroused the admiration of those around him.
His physiotherapy session was nevertheless arduous. In the exercise room, she struggled to shift her weight from her wheelchair to a workout bench. His arms were tired. “I cheated too much on the weekend,” she admitted. A few days earlier, she had shopped for furniture for her new home. “I rolled my chair for three hours. »
Since becoming a quadriplegic, Jeanne no longer has the same reserve of energy. She also needs help with her personal care. A beneficiary attendant comes to her home every morning. Despite these many bereavements, she says she remains “positive”.
During her rehabilitation, she was able to count on the support of an IRGLM psychologist, Hélène Audrit. Psychiatrist Jean-Claude Bertrand, from Sacré-Coeur, also “saved her psychologically”. He found the right medicine to calm his inner turmoil. Jeanne was not in her first depressive episode at the time of her suicide attempt. “It’s the first time that my mental health has been so good,” she said.
Her lover, Jérémy, and her parents support her on a daily basis. His father and his mother did not hesitate “five minutes” before deciding to transform the family residence into an intergenerational house to welcome him. “Either she came here, or she went to a CHSLD,” says her father, Marc Carrière.
The small community of Lachute has pitched in to renovate the premises quickly. “When we approached electricians, plumbers, masons, many told us: ‘We don’t have time, but we’ll take the time. We will come to work in the evening, on weekends,” says Marc Carrière. The family says they are “grateful”.
Jeanne is now dreaming of a short film and, why not, of a children’s book, the title of which she has already found: “Matante on wheels”. She also wants to give talks during suicide prevention week. This ordeal made him discover his “strength”. “Before, I felt weak, sad. I never thought I had resilience. And yet.
Need help ?
Do not hesitate to call the Quebec Suicide Prevention Line: 1 866 APPELLE (1 866 277-3553).