A woman from the Magdalen Islands had to learn to live again following a stroke two weeks after giving birth.
Last September, Catherine Chevrier-Turbide, a 36-year-old mother, suffered a stroke, just two weeks after giving birth to her last child.
“It happened suddenly, I lost the use of speech, and the use of my right side. When I had my stroke, I didn’t know who I was, I lost all my bearings, it was very confronting, ”explained the mother in an interview with TVA Nouvelles.
“Catherine is a very fit person, she would even run marathons. So I could never have believed that she could have a stroke, ”added her husband, Jonathan Leblanc.
Rehabilitation away from home
A few hours after her stroke, she and her partner had to put their lives aside and move to Quebec, to undergo a long rehabilitation.
“At the beginning, I didn’t have the floor, I felt taken in myself, taken in my body and in my head. It was not easy, but little by little I was able to speak again, relearn to move and walk. Today, it’s not perfect, but I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished so far, ”Catherine said with emotion.
“I remember that when Catherine moved a first toe, two weeks after our arrival, we were filled with emotions, then it was the arm,” explained the husband of the 36-year-old woman.
Interacting with his children is what was most difficult, during the first weeks, when the oldest was only a year and a half.
“I was in a wheelchair. I couldn’t express myself or act like before, but over the weeks I was able to gain more confidence and relearn my role as a mom with my new condition, ”said the mom.
Four months later: a remarkable development
She talks, walks and can play with her children.
At the end of January, the little family will be able to return to the Magdalen Islands, where Catherine has a blown glass workshop, La Méduse.
Once home, the rehabilitation will continue for the next few months and even years.
A social fundraising campaign was launched to help this family. It is possible to make a donation at the following address: https://gofund.me/ac72eba2.