A wooden train track reaches the living room floor, where the Christmas tree will soon be a thing of the past, but in this first week of the new year it continues to take pride of place among James' toys.
Catherine's face lights up as she tells me about her son, with whom she had fun tinkering with a train station and a tunnel. At the age of 3, the boy worked on redesigning small cardboard boxes. He was also the one who shaved his mother's hair at her invitation.
“Mom’s hair isn’t good anymore. We'll cut them off and some better ones will grow back,” she explained to the boy, who gave quick kisses to Catherine's “kiwi head,” which was what she called her bald head. It will make your child laugh every time.
Nothing and no one will stop you from spreading joy around you. Maurice has been warned. Who is “Maurice”? The nickname Catherine also gave to the cancer that is taking her through an emotional rollercoaster for the third time in four years.
Wilms tumor is a kidney cancer that primarily affects children but rarely occurs in adults. Catherine Vincent was 27 years old when she was told she had it, after eight long months of constant visits to the emergency room to find out the cause of the presence of blood in her urine.
Catherine was eventually referred to a urologist. A biopsy later, the diagnosis was made and his right kidney was removed.
“Everything is beautiful. Live your life as before,” the specialist reassured her at the end of the procedure, which did not require chemotherapy.
Catherine turned to her then partner, feeling like she wanted to live to the fullest and not put off her plans until tomorrow. “If I have to have a child, it’s going to be now.”
Nine months later, James was born, a healthy baby like his mother, who had enthusiastically returned to her job as an automotive technical consultant. Everything was good.
The young woman thought she had eliminated cancer from her life until a follow-up examination in fall 2021 revealed the presence of a lung nodule. The Wilms tumor was back. In reality, “Maurice” never really left.
“I was angry, but I told myself I would do it. I had a one-year-old at home.”
A flap of her left lung was removed before Catherine was treated by an oncologist from Trois-Rivières and then by a team from the Montreal University Hospital Center (CHUM). The young woman ended 2021 with chemotherapy that lasted until spring 2022, a year also marked by a forced work stoppage, the resulting financial burden and the separation of her couple.
Driven by the urgency to live, Catherine moved in with her parents who live in the Grand Mère sector of Shawinigan. A month after her last treatment, she returned to work despite her doctor's warnings.
“We will definitely see each other again,” said the specialist, who could not approve of such a hasty return to the strenuous balance of family, work and illness. In fact, Catherine, plagued by rapidly increasing fatigue, needed a break to regain her balance. It was a year ago.
“What do I want to do in life? What are my values?” asked the young thirty-year-old. Accustomed to controlling everything, Catherine chose to trust, even when she was told last May of the discovery of another lump, this time in both lungs.
“It’s not operational. “I'm even more against the wall than before,” she says, but is still determined to banish “Maurice” from her life.
Since the beginning of November, Catherine has been experimenting with a new chemotherapy and radiation therapy protocol. At CHUM he was told that if this Plan A didn't work he could be offered a Plan B. All the better, but the young woman hopes that this time it will be the right thing.
Catherine cannot escape the side effects of this powerful medication, but she finds comfort in her new home, alongside her lover, who has come into her life like balm for her heart. François is there, with full expertise. Their relationship had only just begun when “Maurice” reappeared for the third time.
The holidays brought with them some emotions… How many new years do I have left?” Catherine asked herself without looking for the answer.
“Sometimes I'm afraid, that's normal, but I don't let it get to me,” says the woman, who doesn't shy away from talking openly about cancer with people close to her, starting with her boyfriend.
“We’re going through this together,” he told her from the start of their rock-solid relationship.
Every day, even weakened by the side effects of chemotherapy, Catherine makes it a point to make her lovable James laugh, especially by playing hide-and-seek with him. The little one asks for more and kisses his mother's forehead, who laughs again.
“Crying in a corner is a waste of time,” she says, considering herself lucky to be surrounded by such good people.
Catherine was able to count on the generosity of her loved ones when she had to take time off work due to cancer, which impacted her budget. The young woman also benefited from the help of Rouler pour la vie, a foundation whose mission is to alleviate the financial burden on the shoulders of a seriously ill person.
Catherine Vincent now wants to give something back. Between two series of treatments, she collects donations that are given to the organization. “This foundation gives a certain dignity, without discrimination, to people who are sick and without insurance, without possible income, in short, to people who are in survival mode in their daily illness,” she writes on its Facebook page.
His mother is right. “Catherine has tremendous strength of character,” France Trottier told me, asking me to meet her daughter, who smiles shyly when I tell her this kind comment.
“I don't know what to say… I find it hard to give compliments…”
His parents live around the corner. Catherine can count on her at any time. In addition, members of his family, friends and neighbors regularly come to his door to help or to suggest an activity. The young woman accepts the invitation with joy, just as she put her whole heart into organizing James' party and the 5th birthday of Lilou, her boyfriend's daughter.
Catherine has become an expert in the art of creating unforgettable events. She doesn't think about “Maurice”, the current treatments or the next health check during this time.
“We're alive, that's all. Actually, not half.”
Like his smile in the photos.