A 17-year-old girl almost died last summer when a sudden viral infection in her heart caused her to go into cardiac arrest for 42 minutes before doctors could stop her. on the shore Reviving him and then treating him.
“You can’t imagine experiencing this in your life,” confides Rebecca Charland, who is still upset. It was a shock.”
“Intensive care is a roller coaster ride,” admits his mother, Marie-France Provost, still emotional. The miracle is that the staff never gave up.
After spending more than three months at the Montreal Children’s Hospital (MUHC), the teenager finally returned home on November 2.
Rebecca’s life, which was always in great condition and was fond of dancing, took a sad turn on July 18.
“This is very serious”
Severe headache, loss of consciousness: the teenager found herself in the Anna-Laberge hospital in Chateauguay. Diagnosis: Urinary infection that had reached the kidneys. He was given antibiotics and sent home. But two days later, the young woman in Sainte-Catherine, on Montreal’s south shore, was in no better condition.
Back at the hospital, his condition deteriorated dramatically. Low blood pressure, difficulty breathing, pain in the heart.
“The doctor told me: ‘It’s the heart, it’s very serious. We can’t treat it here,'” the mother recalls.
Taken by ambulance to MUHC, his life was in danger.
“It was a nightmare for the whole family,” recalls Dr.R Connol Francoeur, a pediatrician at Montreal Children’s Hospital. His life was clearly in danger.”
Dr. Connol Francoeur Photo Courtesy, MUHC
Actually, Rebecca was infected with a virus which caused inflammation of her heart (myocarditis). Usually, these viruses cause common cold or cough.
Upon arrival, doctors agreed that he should receive help from an ECMO machine, which acts as external heart support.
But, during the procedure Rebecca suffered a cardiac arrest. 42 minutes.
“This is unimaginable,” her mother says, her eyes watering. We said to ourselves: 42 minutes, his brain is definitely affected. I couldn’t believe that we were going to bury our daughter.
D on this topicR Francoeur emphasizes that the resuscitation conditions, however, were optimal.
“Yes, 42 minutes is a long time, but we were still a team ready to deliver high-quality massage and resuscitation. He explains that he had a good chance of recovery, also highlighting the work of a large team with cutting-edge expertise. If we had not managed to put him on ECMO, he would have died.”
However, two days later, ECMO was no longer able to compensate for his heart’s weakness, and blood flow to his organs was no longer possible. His pulse was so weak that the monitor read: zero.
His close family (younger brother, elder sister, lover) were also called to his bedside to say goodbye.
heart shock
“Now there is no organ that works,” his mother recalls emotionally.
However, at this point, doctors offered a last-ditch effort: They shocked his heart several times.
His mother said, “The heart was not well, but she was hopeful that he would recover.” But we didn’t want to be relentless.”
Contrary to all expectations, Rebecca’s heart eventually improved over the following days and she came out of the coma after 11 days. Big relief: there was no brain damage.
“I thought I knew what stress was!” laughs her mother, who temporarily stopped working to care for her daughter.
Rebecca still lives today with complications from a foot infection that prevents her from walking normally, but she has recovered. Even though she doesn’t know whether she will be able to resume her studies soon, the aspiring teacher is very grateful to the hospital staff who treated her with great care.
“I could have died. In life, there is better, but there is also worse,” consoles Rebecca, who wears a subcutaneous defibrillator and pacemaker (pacemaker) Temporary.
