Next month, my son Victor will celebrate his thirteenth birthday. What he’d like more than anything is to be able to play soccer again. It’s been two years since his last game. Victor had an accident: he tripped and hit his head as he was on his way out to meet friends. We didn’t know it at the time, but that fall was going to change his life. And ours.

Victor had just a little bump on the side of his head. Never did we imagine it could be as serious as it was. In fact, a blood vessel had ruptured during his fall and blood was collecting between his brain and his skull. At our local hospital, Victor was intubated and put into an artificial coma so he could be rushed to the Montreal Children’s Hospital. It was horrible. Everything felt so surreal. A simple fall now threatened my child’s life.

Upon arrival at the Children’s, Victor was 10 to 15 minutes away from dying. That’s what ER physician, Dr. Sasha Dubrovsky, would later tell us. To search for the bleeding blood vessel, a part of Victor’s skull needed to be removed. Thanks to the exceptional work of neurosurgeon, Dr. Jean-Pierre Farmer and his team, the surgery was a success.

Without your support, the ER, trauma and surgical teams wouldn’t have been able to provide this level of world-class care, and my son might not be with us today.

After his surgery, Victor spent 10 days in a coma. When he woke up, he could move only one eye and couldn’t speak. My boy was also suffering from uncontrollable muscle cramping – spasticity – that was making it difficult to walk. As a mother, it broke my heart. When the Botox didn’t work our only hope was to implant a baclofen pump to deliver the medication directly to his spinal cord. Did you know that the Children’s is the only pediatric hospital in Quebec to implant these types of pumps? Victor had access to this treatment because your support plays a vital role in helping to attract and retain the best and brightest minds!

Today, Victor is back at school and walks short distances, with crutches – incredible given how close he came to irreversible brain damage that night! We cherish every little victory. Victor couldn’t have been in better hands: We owe all of his progress to the incredible efforts of the emergency and trauma teams, the surgeons, nurses and physiotherapists! Thanks to your support, my son’s recovery is nothing short of remarkable.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
Isabelle, Victor’s mother

P.S. - An accident like this could happen to anyone’s child. It’s still hard to believe how close Victor came to not surviving! Thanks to you, the ER, trauma and surgical teams had the expertise needed to save his life, when every minute mattered. Ensuring the Children’s remains at the forefront is why your renewed support today is so vital.