I’m little Xavier’s mom, who will soon be two years old. Before he was born, we knew that our little baby had a heart defect that would require one or more surgical interventions. From the moment he was born at CHU Sainte-Justine, Xavier surprised us with his strength and will to live! Surrounded by his medical team, he underwent his first operation at 8 days old, performed by cardiac surgeon Dr. Nancy Poirier, but little did we know at the time that the storm was not over. Two weeks later, during a cardiology follow-up, pulmonary arterial pressure threatened his life, and he had to be rushed to hospital to be stabilized.
When he was 5 months old, another operation was performed on one of his valves to try to reduce his pulmonary pressure, and a final operation was carried out at 11 months for a cardioplasty on this valve. Since then, Xavier has never been operated on again, but we know the storm is not over yet! During my many hospitalizations, the En Cœur Foundation supported me financially. The loan of a breast pump to feed my baby who was in intensive care, funding for travel between home and the hospital and lots of meal vouchers when I had to stay at the hospital. Without the En Coeur Foundation, it would not have been possible to stay at my little Xavier’s bedside for as long as I needed.
Xavier will soon be two years old, and he is doing great – there is no stopping him! We know that not all is won, but he is so well surrounded, and we know that his medical team will know how to react when the time comes!