Five little minutes that have saved the lives

Photo Pierre-Paul Biron
A few months after he had withdrawn completely to the left kidney, Marie-Anne Poirier is still struggling to believe what happened to him. “It is a succession of small accidents that saved my life,” she noted.

Pierre-Paul Biron

Wednesday, 2 August 2017 00:00

UPDATE
Wednesday, 2 August 2017 00:00

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The life was given a second chance to a young nurse from Quebec, who has discovered that she suffered from a rare form of kidney cancer by chance, wanting to simply give service to a colleague.

Last march 16, Marie-Anne Poirier arrives at the CHU de Québec for his shift tonight. A nurse at the emergency, she then meets a fellow doctor that taught ultrasound techniques to a group of students.

“Two of his guinea pigs have never been shown so she asked me to use my belly. I was early arrival and I had the time, but it’s not me trying really not. She kept telling me that it was just a little five minutes, ” says the young woman of 28 years old.

The latter is not doubt, but that little five minutes it will eventually have saved the life.

“The student started to move the ultrasound on my abdomen and her face had changed. I understood that there was something, ” recalls Marie-Anne who has learned this way the existence of a cancer mass of nine centimetres on his left kidney.

The tumor is a carcinoma, chromophobe, a rare form of the disease that constitutes only 5 % of all cases of cancer of the kidney.

Blow

The new one has the effect of a blow in the life of the young woman who had no history of cancer in her family.

“It came out of nowhere. I had pain in the spleen for a while, but I thought that it was fatigue. I had even passed exams and everything was fine. I had still ordered an ultrasound, but because of the wait, I’ve never passed, ” said the nurse.

Just over a month after the discovery of the mass, Marie-Anne was undergoing a radical nephrectomy, which involves removing completely the kidney is reached. However, it is not completely out of the woods.

“I still have three small masses on the right kidney, but they are not able to characterize on MRI because they are too small. It is not known how it can develop so I have to be followed to six months. “

Changed life

Less than two months after her surgery, Mary-Anne Poirier is still struggling to believe what she has lived.

It all fell down so quickly that she understands with hindsight that his life is forever changed. “I feel I have become a new person. That was a big “bang” in my life that completely changed everything. “

She realized today that life does not often help much. In his case, it was all in a review improvised to help out a colleague.

“It is a succession of small accidents that saved my life. Simply. Suppose I had not worked in the health care setting, or that I had not worked that day. Just if I hadn’t arrive in advance for my shift. I never would have known or I would have known too late, ” says the bubbly young woman who intends to enjoy life more than ever.

She wanted to see the seven wonders before the age of 30

True globe-second hand, Marie-Anne Poirier has seen the plans for her dream trip to be turned upside down by the disease, a painful reality to accept when it comes to the project of a lifetime.

Struck by cancer while she is in the flower of age, and that she projects full the head, Marie-Anne Poirier still wonder why life has put this test on his road.

“I’m trying since the beginning to find an explanation. Why life wanted to prevent me from achieving my dream ? But I have not found yet, ” says the young woman who is made to remove a kidney in may.

This famous dream was to see the seven wonders of the world before the age of 30. It is a goal she has in mind since ever. “The little Marie Anne, four years old was already dreaming of travel. I had a big book that had all the continents with pictures of animals and tourist attractions, and I was playing to make me routes. Travel, it has always been part of me, ” she says.

Project to complete

His round wonders was started in 2010 with the pyramids of Chichen Itza, in Mexico, followed by the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil and the Colosseum in Rome. A journey of nine months foreseen for the end of 2018 to enable it to visit the remaining four.

“I had already planned a leave with deferred with the hospital and I had from September 2018 to may 2019 to complete my project. My route was already done, ” sighed she.

Stop working for an indefinite period, Marie-Anne Poirier sees its chances of reaching its goal before its 30-year tapering, but it does not lose hope.

Campaign sociofinancement

His sister has launched a campaign sociofinancement to help him achieve his dream despite his loss of income, and is confident that his health will allow him to leave.

“I have no choice, if I want to achieve my dream I will have to do it in small pieces detached. I can’t go a year with my backpack. I have so dreamed of doing, that is what is most hard to accept. But I’m just going to go more often to the place “, the philosopher, the nurse of 28 years.