Normand Fonseca and Sonia Chapados broke some of the worst news at the doctor’s office. They got through it and now they’re giving back.
Fonseca, 53, is originally from Sainte-Thérèse and learned in 2012 that he had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. 48-year-old Chapados from Laval was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2018.
Now they are in good shape and this weekend they will take part in the 16th edition of the Cité de la Santé Foundation’s 300 km Cycling Challenge for LIFE. This is a two-day tour between Laval and Trois-Rivières in which 180 people, including doctors, take part.
“I really feel like the cancer center saved my life. So if I can give something back and help, I will do it,” explains Normand Fonseca full of emotion.
Also in treatment
Sonia Chapados, who has been participating since 2019, only started cycling a year or two before cancer came into her life. She even pushed back and forth between two chemotherapy treatments.
“During my treatments I completed the Pierre Lavoie loop. I was able to do the 135 kilometers. It wasn’t easy, but I succeeded,” says the woman, who will have her last appointment with her oncologist in a few weeks, five years after the onset of the disease.
Normand Fonseca experienced the same thing in 2016, forcing him to postpone his first participation until 2017. And he’s fine, even though he knows he lives with the sword of Damocles hanging over his head.
“In 2016, I had just had a bone marrow transplant and had no energy. They completely shut down your system to give you stem cells and I’ve had a few infections.”
Sonia Chapados (2nd from right) fought against Hodgkin’s lymphoma and is now pedaling for the Cité de la santé foundation. Courtesy of the Fondation Cité de la santé. Photo courtesy of the Fondation Cité de la santé
attitude
Sonia Chapados and Normand Fonseca have something else in common: a concrete attitude. We feel how they sink their teeth into life and enjoy it. We can believe in whatever we want, but when faced with a test, a good attitude is essential.
“I have been living with this since 2012, I was told to consider it a chronic illness. It has come back and it could come back, but it is a paranoia that becomes easier to deal with over time.
“We must not stop living and put things in perspective. You have to find ways to appreciate life anyway,” emphasizes Fonseca.
The reaction to an illness also involves a little review of one’s own lifestyle habits.
“Sport has always been a part of my life, but not as much as it is now. I do a lot more than before,” says Chapados.
hand back
The objective of this challenge is to raise $400,000 for the Fondation de la Cité de la Santé de Laval, which aims in particular to finance the hospital center’s equipment and provide support to patients.
Normand Fonseca is infinitely grateful to the organization and showed it with his friends, with whom he forms the Braves à vélo team.
“We’ve raised more than $300,000 over the years, which I’m very proud of. The center is also used for research and support,” he explains, mentioning that he was well surrounded during his relapse.
“I used the equipment purchased by the foundation, I also wanted to do my part. I have a work colleague who has already taken part and he spoke positively to me about it, it touched me,” says Sonia Chapados.
Former speed skater Charles Hamelin is the spokesman for the Cité de la Santé Foundation’s 300 km challenge. Courtesy of the City of Health Foundation. Photo courtesy of the City of Health Foundation
lightning
The speaker, former speed skater Charles Hamelin, is no stranger to the foundation, which he and his partner, journalist Geneviève Tardif, fell in love with at first sight.
“We have been spokespersons for the foundation for three years, shortly after the birth of our little girl Violette. We fell in love with the staff there.”
Hameln associates its name with a concern that is necessary in our healthcare system.
“Any thing associated with a hospital is a good thing. If we want our loved ones to be with us for a long time and make it work, we have to help.”