Within a palliative care hospice for children

VAT New

Sunday, 11 march, 2018 17:01

UPDATE
Sunday, 11 march, 2018 17:04

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Over 700 Quebec families have found respite in the home of palliative care for children, The Lighthouse Children and Families, since its creation in 2007.

This place, unique in the province, is located in Montreal and holds a special place for many parents encountered by TVA News.

This is particularly the case of Donald Forest.

His 11 year old daughter died at the Lighthouse in August 2016, 10 months after receiving a diagnosis of brain tumor.

Two weeks before her death, Marie-Ange was admitted to the care home. She has had palliative sedation. His departure went smoothly and without physical suffering.

“It has opened my eyes two minutes while his mother and I were at her side (…) We told him that we loved him very much and that she could leave in peace,” said Mr. Forest.

Marie-Ange wanted the world to discover this home that receives children who will never reach adulthood.

This is where parents come for respite and end of life care. This is the case of the mother of Maelie, a four-year old girl who suffers from serious neurological problems.

The girl comes in respite at the Lighthouse a few times a year.

“Maelie when she comes here, she is rocking, she goes to the swimming pool. As a parent, I am in peace for me to rest while my daughter is in respite at the Lighthouse” indicated Karine Beaurivage

Diagnosis of a disease with fatal outcome
Children from all over Quebec are admitted free of charge in this house of 12 rooms, where five doctors and twenty nurses take turns at the bedside of young patients.

“It is necessary to have a diagnosis of a disease with fatal outcome. The evolution of the disease is not important. We don’t need to have a prognosis of two or three months. It can last for several years,” says the executive director of the Lighthouse Children and Families, Johanne Desrochers.

Financing activities
A father whose son of 18 years died five years ago at the Lighthouse every year organises fundraising activities.

The Lighthouse Children and Families is to raise, annually, three millions of dollars. Two million dollars are also paid by the government of Quebec.