Help Monique raise money

In my early twenties, I read a quote by Tony Proudfoot that stayed with me: “Whenever you have a choice between taking the stairs and the elevator, choose the stairs. Taking the stairs is a privilege—you never know when you will lose it.” At the time, he was battling Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and the simplicity and truth of those words struck me deeply. I carried them with me for years, never imagining how personally I would one day experience them. 

After my first massive heart attack in May 2022 at the age of 38, and during the 18-month roller coaster that followed, those “simple privileges” were suddenly taken from me. Sitting up in bed. Speaking. Drinking. Eating. Standing. Taking a few steps. They became enormous milestones. 

With the extraordinary care of the teams at the McGill University Health Centre, including Dr Hornstein, Dr Giannetti, and Dr Cecere, and the support of the Critical Illness Recovery Centre (CIRC), I slowly fought my way back—one step at a time. At first, the goals were modest: sit up in bed, take five steps with a walker, make it down the ICU hallway. Step by step, with the encouragement (and sometimes pressure!) of my incredible community, those steps added up. 

Today, I will never take those privileges for granted. I am deeply proud to have the privilege to walk in the Breakthrough Run so that others can regain those same simple but powerful milestones.