“It is as if I was living in a prison”

Photo Arnaud Koenig-Soutière
Serge White, is dedicated to the design, to kill the time. His works are on display starting today at the multipurpose centre in Saint-Raymond-de-Portneuf.

Arnaud Koenig-Soutière

Sunday, 11 February, 2018 00:00

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Sunday, 11 February, 2018 00:00

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A man Saint-Raymond-de-Portneuf is virtually nailed him home, for almost two years waiting for a heart transplant, a “lottery” which he hopes to get the right number.

The life of Serge White took a sudden turn on April 29, 2016. En route to the job, he feels a pinch in the heart that causes it to turn back. A passage to the hospital can make a claim as troubling : he suffers from congestive heart failure. He needs a new heart.

“There are mornings where I sit down on the couch, my wife leaves for work and I’m crying a good part of the morning because I wonder if the operation would go well. I would have a 10 % chance of staying on the table, ” says the 55-year-old, whose heart is only working at 12 % capacity.

Several drugs

He who had been a smoker since the age of 13 years had to stop smoking from one day to the next, and it should ingest no less than 23 different medications per day. A yearly bill which amounts to approximately $16,000.

“Before, I had trouble to swallow a Tylenol !” exclaims Serge White, who also suffers from diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and sleep apnea.

Life suspended

The fifty-year-old has had to resolve to abandon the snowmobile, alpine ski and travel, among others, in addition to stop working. Go to the corner store, which is through with his home, is an effort that is enough to push him out of breath.

“It is as if I was living in prison, but without bars “, he says, who has taken 53 pounds because of his condition.

It can only wait. Wait in the hope that a heart becomes available for transplant. If he has no chance in the next two years, he must resolve to put an artificial heart.

Serge White turned to drawing to kill the time. He now presents his works in an exhibition opening at the multipurpose centre in Saint-Raymond-de-Portneuf, and they will be on display until march 16. It is also possible to come to her aid by the Foundation, heart to heart, by specifying that the amount is intended to him.