For her 50th birthday, Chantal Tardif dreamed of a chalet by the water. The medical secretary’s dream vanished the day her husband was diagnosed with incurable cancer at the age of 43. Chantal had to embark on a marathon as a caregiver that led her not to the edge of the water, but to the edge of bankruptcy, to the edge of tears.
“You know that commercial where we see the patient and his family flying backwards at the announcement of the cancer diagnosis? asks Chantal.
This perfectly describes the state in which she found herself that day in March 2015, to her great despair. The impression of being propelled into the void, without a net. How to be at her husband’s bedside while taking care of their daughter and working? How to keep your footing? How to get the necessary psychological help right away when we are told that there is a two-year wait?
Chantal tried to find a support organization for caregivers in oncology. In vain. She began by reducing her working hours so that she could accompany her husband to his medical appointments. It was then necessary for him, according to the hospitalizations, to stop working completely for some time. She got impoverished, in debt, exhausted.
Eight years later, Chantal is not at the end of her troubles, but quietly falls back on her feet.
Following a stem cell transplant, her husband Daniel, who has multiple myeloma, defied the worst prognoses. “The doctor told us he had a 10% chance of getting out of it. »
He got away with it. When she learned that her lover was in partial remission, Chantal made a promise to herself: she would make the defense of caregivers in oncology the fight of her life. The ex-secretary decided to enroll in university to study law, social work and caregiving.
This is how, instead of the chalet she dreamed of, Chantal offered herself a first certificate in law for her 50th birthday. With Catherine Jodoin, a 27-year-old manager who would also have liked to be able to count on a support organization for adult caregivers during the two years she accompanied her spouse who died of cancer, she has just founded an NPO to fill this void. – The Support Organization for Caregivers in Oncology of Quebec (OSPAOQ).
Chantal lives in Drummondville. Catherine lives in Longueuil. They did not know each other before Catherine published a testimony in which Chantal recognized herself on the Support for Caregivers Facebook page.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Catherine Jodoin
The first time they spoke, the conversation lasted two hours.
“Catherine listened a bit to my madness and decided to come on board with me. I would tell you that she is as crazy as me! “says Chantal, bursting out laughing.
I wanted to check with Catherine. Is it true what she says, Chantal? Are you also… crazy? Catherine burst out laughing too. “A little, yes, not badly! »
We are talking here about an inspiring madness that pushes two passionate women to join forces and their experiences without counting their hours to devote themselves voluntarily to an essential project that does not yet benefit from any subsidy.
“When I have something on my heart, I have no limits. Nothing stops me,” says Catherine, who holds a master’s degree in operations management from HEC Montréal.
Her experience as a caregiver from the age of 24 to 26 marked her forever. “All the injustice I’ve experienced, I don’t want it to happen to others anymore,” she says, referring in particular to the difficulty of having her status as a caregiver recognized.
“All we want is to improve services and care so that no one has to relive the distress that Catherine and I experienced,” summarizes Chantal.
She is waging her fight on several fronts. In the political arena, she is working on a bill that would ensure that patients and caregivers who are over-indebted or bankrupt because of the disease are not penalized as she has been, while he became impossible to obtain credit. To find accommodation or get a car, she had to call on her parents.
Those who have no resources or private insurance, what do they do?
Chantal Late
On the practical front, the NPO wants to offer help so that caregivers can obtain the tax credit to which they are entitled. For the time being, only a tiny minority manages to obtain it, even if we know that caregivers save the State astronomical sums. For lack of information, we immediately say to ourselves that it is too complicated and that it will be refused.
Does this mean that you need a doctorate in tax credit to get there? ” No ! You have to be tough, ask the right questions and take the time to send the form! says Chantal, who recently helped a caregiver recover $18,000 in tax credits.
As a philanthropist, who supports her in her fight, told her: “Chantal, you have a bull’s forehead, but a good bull’s forehead! You rush when it’s time to rush! »
Notice to caregivers: you can now count on two crazy beauties and their beefy foreheads.